Pull Up a Chair — This Is The Fika Friday

A welcome, a premise, and a promise about what happens here every Friday

William Whawell | The Fika Friday

Fika — the Swedish approach to coffee. Not rushed or forced; rather, it's enjoyed. A time for reflection, a time for open, honest conversation.

For those that don't know me, I am Will. Not William (only my Mother ) or Bill — just Will.

For those that do know me, you know that I can be irreverent, not always subtle, and often blunt.

But always authentic me.

That's what The Fika Friday is. It's a place for thought and comment, and is part of my family of online spaces.

The space between my various areas of work.

A couple of things about these Friday posts. First, they will always be written by me, and not by my friend Claude.

Don't get me wrong — he's handy, as is Lumo, and I do use AI a great deal. But these words are as I write them, first as a draft with pen and paper.

Secondly, they won't always be on a Friday. Why, you may ask? Well, the world is not made that way — after all, what may happen on a Monday may not wait until Friday for comment.

I had hoped for a gentle, slow release of new websites, and time for comment over coffee.

Fate, though, intervened — with an Annus Horribilis stretching back to May 2025, culminating in June 2026 with a six-day stay at the NHS's pleasure.

Bit like boarding school really: rude awakenings, being prodded awake every four hours to make sure you're still breathing, lights out at 10.00 pm, and terrible coffee.

In the world of law — which I know you're not interested in at all — the worst was to come. There have been two fairly interesting High Court decisions. Well reported, except for the only part that matters. Both could — and I stress could — have consequences within the legal sector and its wider ecosystem, particularly the role of the so-called “no win no fee” agreements and the funding of legal claims.

First, we had an action involving a Prince of the realm and some others, who decided to go all out on a “no win no fee” deal to pursue a national newspaper. It hasn't ended well, and may mean we see a rash of greatest hits albums to enable legal costs to be paid — and “one” may have to ask Pa for a handout as let's face a few jars of jam isn't going to be able to cover any potential ATE shortfall.

Secondly, Dieselgate Part 2 — where one business (amongst others; I only ran the Mercedes numbers) that turns over roughly 2.5 billion euros a week was faced with one of, if not the, largest claim of its kind: roughly 1.6 million car owners, again on a CFA, so “no win no fee”. Again, there may well be a scramble as to who pays what, but I will be commenting on the David v Goliath battles that these types of claim bring. Wealthy, well-funded, cash-rich businesses being taken to task by law firms working on the hope of a win — to get paid, and to pay back the hedge funds who have backed them. Or even small investors. Who knows.

Whether the system can survive in its present form — with more funders and law firms going to the wall, based on assumptions that mass claims, pile-it-high WIP and OTT valuations will always work — remains to be seen.

I have my own views. And as I don't see Claimant vs Defendant — rather, I see potential clients from any direction — my views may well not be what some may want to read.

What you won't get is a notification every time something is posted. What you will get, if you stay subscribed, is the regular Fika Friday — always written by me. As for the other articles: mine too, with input from AI for the heavy lifting.

Will Whawell — Human Intelligence, Applied. Thought by me.

Hopefully you'll find articles and comment on those that are of interest. If not, just unsubscribe.

Will