Litigation Costs

The Litigation Costs team have amassed a huge amount of technical skill in this area and are highly competent and deeply focused on getting the best outcomes for our clients.
We are regularly instructed on multi-million-pound legal costs disputes, acting for the receiving or paying party. With nearly 120 years’ experience in this area, you can count on the team to safely guide you through any detailed assessment proceedings.

Provisional and detailed assessment proceedings

The team deals with legal costs work arising out of all areas of the law, including:

• Commercial litigation
• Medical negligence
• Personal injury
• Industrial disease
• Professional negligence
• Construction
• Insolvency
• Property litigation
• Intellectual property
• Banking litigation
• Contentious probate
• Judicial Review
• Proceeds of Crime Act

They regularly prepare bills of costs, points of dispute and replies, and provide representation at provisional and detailed assessment hearings. In addition, they have vast experience in applications for payments on account and/or interim costs certificates, preparing funding arrangements and attending joint settlement meetings and mediations.

Summary assessment – statement of costs

We have a wealth of experience in preparing statements of costs for summary assessment and will cater for requests at short notice. We will ensure that they are not only of the highest standard but are ready to be filed and served prior to the 24-hour court deadlines. We will also provide recoverability advice on both your statement of costs and the opponent’s statement of costs to ensure the advocate gets the best possible result at the hearing.

Schedules and breakdowns

Schedules of Costs are often required prior to the preparation of a Bill of costs for detailed assessment and are disclosed on a without prejudice basis in an attempt to save time and money. With this in mind, it is important that schedules are accurately drafted in a highly efficient and cost-effective manner, which the team can do for you.

Costs negotiation

It is critical within costs negotiation that the key issues are identified at an early stage to avoid wasting unnecessary time and costs. We offer knowledgeable, effective and efficient services in cost negotiations to ensure transparency, trust and, importantly, appropriate reward.

Solicitor and own client costs disputes

This is a rapidly developing area of costs, and we are regularly sought out for our technical advice in this area.

Whether you seek to challenge your solicitor’s costs (contentious or non-contentious), or you are a solicitor seeking to defend your costs, we have a broad range of experience and can assist you throughout the entire process, providing reliable, timely and financially sound advice.

Security for costs

We can assist with any application for security costs and prepare the estimates of costs to support the claim for security. We also assist with the witness statement, in response to an application for security for costs, and provide advice about the reasonableness of the amount claimed for security.

Again, we are always willing to discuss and explore innovative and forward-thinking pricing structures.

Team facts

• Recovered 91.5% on a PI claim within 15 days of commencing detailed assessment proceedings.
• 18 instructions this year alone from a Legal 500 ranked firm who specialise in serious birth injury and medical negligence claims.
• Achieved 84% recovery on a catastrophic brain injury claim where the bill of costs totalled in excess of £540,000.
• Reported case on the successful recovery of costs in a complex technology dispute involving four litigants in person.

The latest Litigation Costs blog posts…

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Key contact

“The team has a broad range of experience. If you have a costs issue, you can find a solution there. I think they are well regarded in the industry.“

legal 500