The pre-action protocols are there to assist the parties involved by setting out the rules for pre-action conduct. The pre-action stage typically necessitates the early exchange of information about a party’s proposed claim (such as the key facts and the legal basis for the claim) and allows the other party to provide a substantive response.

Where required, the parties are expected to exchange further pre-action correspondence, together with any relevant documents in order to narrow the issues in dispute, with the aim of avoiding litigation. The courts are likely to penalise parties, usually in the form of cost penalties, if they do not engage in pre-action correspondence.

The party intending to pursue legal action should set out its proposed claim in a sufficiently detailed letter of claim. For example, it should include the names of the parties, the factual background relevant to the dispute, the legal basis to pursue the claim, the losses suffered and the remedies sought. The claimant should give the defendant a reasonable period of time in which to respond to the letter of claim (namely 14 days in a straightforward claim, and up to three months where the dispute is more complex).