Court Rules Changes to Watch in 2026
A practitioner's quarterly note on amended civil procedure rules and how they ripple into your practice operations.
Procedural amendments don't always grab headlines, but they often quietly change how a matter has to be filed, served, or scheduled. Three to keep an eye on this year.
Electronic filing in the High Courts
Several High Courts have moved further toward mandatory electronic filing for civil revisions. The submission window closes earlier than the physical-filing window, so practitioners need to backstop their internal deadlines accordingly.
Service of process on corporate parties
The current Service of Process amendments shorten the cure period for defective service. Diary the cure deadline aggressively — a missed cure is now harder to argue around.
Adjournment fee schedules
Some jurisdictions have introduced graduated adjournment fees. Track which adjournments are billable to the client and which the firm absorbs. The platform's adjournment-reason field is now more important than ever.