Kathryn Regan It’s been another busy year in the world of Solicitor/Own client costs, with no shortage of decisions on the usual issues which crop up when former clients challenge their solicitor’s costs. The hot topic this year was whether a Solicitor’s invoice was or was not a statute bill, with numerous High Court cases…
Kathryn Regan What do you need to do to make sure you are getting them right? Make sure you’re entitled to raise them Make sure your invoice includes everything it is supposed to Is it really that simple? Based on the wealth of Solicitor Act case law over the last few years in particular, apparently…
Kathryn Regan Latest updates in the world of costs The approved minutes of the CPRC meetings which took place on 1 December 2023 and 2 February 2024 became available recently. In the December meeting, it was noted that a report in respect of fixed recoverable costs in clinical negligence claims had been provisionally scheduled for…
Kathryn Regan A frequently occurring issue we find in respect of costs is to what extent a receiving party is entitled to recover specific items of costs from one paying party which relate, in part, to another party to the proceedings. This is a particular issue on cases involving claims and counterclaims, but also in…
Kathryn Regan Following amendments to the Rules in respect of revising budgets in October 2020, a recent Judgment of Master Kaye in Persimmon Homes & Taylor Wimpey –v- Osborne Clark LLP has highlighted the need for parties to act promptly when seeking to revise their budget. The Facts In December 2020, the Claimants issued…
Kathryn Regan It has been drilled into litigators over the past 7 years that all parties are required to file and exchange budgets in Part 7 multi-track cases, save for the excepted cases under CPR 3.12(1). All parties except for Litigants in Person that is. Recently a represented party issued an application against a…
Kathryn Regan In the recent Judgment of Belsner –v- Cam Legal Services Limited, Mr. Justice Lavender, on appeal, considered the question of whether a firm’s terms of business allowed them to charge more than would have been allowed on an inter partes basis and whether informed consent was required for the client to agree to…
Kathryn Regan Following the decision in Ainsworth –v- Stewarts Law LLP, there has, perhaps unsurprisingly, been a shift in the way points of dispute are prepared, particularly in respect of Solicitors Act Assessments. The recent matter of Edinburgh –v- Fieldfisher LLP [2020] EWHC 862 (QB) highlights that parties should be cautious when preparing limited points…
Kathryn Regan Hot on the heels of guidance agreed by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and the Forum of Insurance Lawyers and a protocol agreed between the Association of British Insurers and Thompsons Solicitors, aimed at opposing parties acting more cooperatively during this period of change and uncertainty, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed…
Kathryn Regan Gray -v- Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis Costs budgeting has been around for over six years now, but appeal decisions on the allowances made by Judges during this process are few and far between. A recent case of Gray -v- Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis dealt with the extent to…