At the end of April the way in which cases are brought to trial in the UK was transformed. Partly this is to reduce the state's costs - the government wants to limit the amount it spends on legal-aid (financial support to individuals who are too poor to represent themselves in court) but the reforms are also designed to accelerate litigation and to prevent worthless cases from dragging on. Any bank or multinational that litigates before the UK courts needs to be aware of these changes.
The first thing they will notice is that the language itself has changed. A claimant (no longer a plaintiff) issues a claim form (not a writ) which must be served within four months (or six, if it is being served outside the UK) together with a response pack on the defendant. Either with the claim form or within 14 days of serving it, the claimant must serve particulars of claim (previously described as a statement of claim).
And there are some other changes of language to note: Anton Pillar orders are now called search and seizure orders; Mareva injunctions are called freezing orders; ex parte is now without notice and inter partes is with notice; a subpoena is now a witness summons; pleadings are now statements of case; discovery (the collection and exchange of relevant evidence) is disclosure.