The traditional approach to costs recovery has been to prepare a statement of costs for trial, perhaps convert it into a without prejudice schedule of costs for negotiation and, when all else fails, instruct your costs specialist to prepare a formal bill of costs and commence detailed assessment proceedings. Unsurprisingly, this whole process can take many months and, if the paying party are unwilling to make a payment on account of costs, it can cause difficulties with cash flow. This is particularly noticeable for firms with a large caseload.
The tide, however, has started to turn and we are receiving an increasing number of instructions to prepare a skeleton bill of costs in readiness for a JSM. This proactive approach means that your costs are summarised and presented to the opponent on an occasion where, hopefully, they have the appetite for negotiation and therefore there is a realistic chance that both damages and costs can be concluded in one go.
For matters subject to costs management, it is essential that the costs are presented in accordance with precedent H phases to enable the paying party insight into whether there has been any over spend in a particular phase. Costs that fall outside costs management should be isolated and thought should be given to good reasons for departure from the budget if there has been an overspend. This will equip you with the information required to try and persuade the opponent to reach an agreement on costs and avoid the costs associated with detailed assessment.
And, of course, if you are unable to settle your costs then the skeleton bill can be updated and converted into a formal bill of costs in readiness to commence detailed assessment proceedings.
Those clients who adopt a proactive approach to costs recovery are reducing the amount of time it takes to conclude costs negotiations and, ultimately, for the money to reach their bank account. They, wisely, think about the costs aspect of their case in tandem with their client’s claim and they reserve their Costs Lawyer well in advance of the JSM.
Joanne Chase is a Senior Associate Costs Lawyer in the Costs and Litigation Funding Department at Clarion Solicitors. You can contact her at joanne.chase@clarionsolicitors.com and 0113 336 3327, or the Clarion Costs Team on 0113 246 0622.
