Legal Costs

The Senior Courts Costs Office Guide 2013 correctly describes the approach to disclosure in detailed assessment hearings of potentially privileged documents: “If, having examined documents lodged with or produced to the court, the court is minded to determine a point of dispute wholly or partly in favour of the receiving party it does not automatically […]

Extract from Narrative to bill of costs: “Computer technology was utilised wherever possible. … The Claimants’ solicitors have tried to use novel and efficient ways of dealing with the claim. Wherever possible standard documents have been prepared including questionnaires and in some cases, standard letters. Meetings with the individual Claimants have been minimised. Pro-active use

Regional Costs Judge Marshall Phillips writing in the Solicitors Journal: “In cases issued on or after 1 April 2013, the receiving party should differentiate between work done before and after that date, proving a total for work done before and a total for work done after. The court will be applying a different proportionality test

I note the Senior Courts Costs Office Guide 2013 explains: “Independent costs draftsmen have no rights of audience as such but, by concession, are treated as if they are in the employ of the firm of solicitors or other legal representatives instructing them.” I still don’t understand why they view it as a concession. Assuming

Some excellent advice from Antony Smith of Legal Project Management Limited, writing in Litigation Funding: “Generally, estimating is best done when based on historical data of previous projects which are similar to that at hand. Lawyers are lucky here, as their practice management systems and/or case management systems should hold this kind of data. …

A helpful summary from the Senior Courts Costs Office Guide 2013 on the consequences of Part 36 offers in detailed assessment proceedings: “Either party may, at any time, make a formal settlement offer in accordance with Part 36. If the paying party makes such an offer and it is accepted by the receiving party within

Another useful, if basic, point from the Senior Courts Costs Office Guide 2013: “It is standard practice for the client care letter (redacted where appropriate) to be shown to the paying party. The Court of Appeal has held that it should be the usual practice for a conditional fee agreement (redacted where appropriate) to be

The Senior Courts Costs Office Guide 2013, in relation to provisional assessment, states: “In the SCCO the Costs Judge or costs officer will have regard to the papers in support of the bill (that is, the papers listed in paragraph 13.12 of Practice Direction 47) when conducting the provisional assessment. If the receiving party has

An interesting approach from the Senior Courts Costs Office Guide 2013 in relation to applications for interim costs certificates in provisional assessment cases: “An application for an interim costs certificate which is made in a case proceeding to a provisional assessment will not be listed for hearing on a date before the provisional assessment takes

My favourite legal quote of the year, by Jeff Zindani in the recently published Surviving Jackson: “Lawyers don’t like to be told there is urgency or a crisis unless it involves a paying client.”