Practical Law

In Best v Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, a clinical negligence case, the defendant accepted the claimant’s Part 36 offer of £475,000 to settle the costs. Costs of assessment were to be determined a month later, on 10 November 2020. That hearing went ahead virtually, before Master Leonard. At the conclusion of the … Continue reading Cycles in the sand? →

Despite the very many challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, many costs lawyers are reporting that they are busier than ever. I am also pleased to report that the Association of Costs Lawyers’ (ACL) latest survey also found that the profession is becoming increasingly comfortable with the electronic bill of costs. Some 126 costs lawyers (approximately … Continue reading One third of costs lawyers “busier than ever” despite COVID-19 →

Anything electronic has always been controversial and can leave people feeling excluded. Certainly it seems that this is how the vast majority of practitioners feel when looking in on the new electronic bill of costs.

There has been a noticeable rise in the number of unhappy clients challenging their solicitors’ bills, particularly in personal injury cases, at least to judge by various rulings from the County Court right up to the Court of Appeal (Herbert v HH Law).

Costs lawyers may generally operate behind the scenes, but a recent case in the Senior Courts Costs Office provides a useful reminder of our professional status and the important role we play in the resolution of costs disputes.

The new form electronic bill, coming into force tomorrow (6 April 2018), is “bound to save time and costs” and soon “people will be amazed that we had put up with the old paper-based bill for so long”, Jackson LJ predicted as he reflected on his reforms ahead of his retirement from the bench on … Continue reading E-day arrives →

Though the article and the decision in May and another v Wavell Group Ltd and another contains nods to Queen (the case involves guitarist Brian May), ultimately it relates to Jackson LJ’s vision of proportionality and the differing interpretations that have followed.