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An interesting recent blog post from Kerry Underwood discusses offshoring legal work. He admits to a direct interest in this issue as Underwoods Solicitors offshore some of their work through their South African office and other firms have used this facility. He also suggests: “The same is true in relation to costs lawyers: why is […]

The nice people at 4 New Square invited me to their Summer Party on Tuesday evening.  Although the weather was terrible, they had had the sense to book an indoor venue. In addition to their own embarrassment of riches in terms of their specialist costs counsel, there were also a number of other costs practitioners

The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in the important case of Harrison v University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust [2017] EWCA Civ 792 concerning the correct approach to take to detailed assessment where there has been a costs management order made. The facts of the case are irrelevant. The four points of

It was a funny old General Election. We witnessed the worst Conservative manifesto in history and watched as the Prime Minister went, in the public eye, from “strong and stable” to “weak and wobbly” in a few short weeks. The Conservative share of the vote duly increased by 5.5% compared to the brilliant and ruthless

What steps in costs litigation are (non-Costs Lawyer) law costs draftsmen able to undertake? Although the issue, inexplicably, still sometimes arises, it should now be clear (post-Kynaston v Carroll [2011] EWHC 2179) that they can appear at (first-instance) detailed assessment hearings so long as they are properly instructed by the legal representative on record. However,

Kerry Underwood’s Personal Injury Small Claims, Portals and Fixed Costs has now been published and is available to order here. Running to over 1,300 pages over three volumes, you certainly get your money’s worth (a steal at £80). The value of the book falls into three categories: It is an indispensable practical guide for any

This blog has previously looked at the interrelationship between interim payments on account of costs and interim costs certificates. Gordon Exall’s Civil Litigation Brief blog recently had a post on this issue that I struggle to describe as being anything other than bizarre (although the post itself is an entirely accurate summary of the decision

Over the weekend, the Guardian published an article titled: “Whiplash: the myth that funds a £20bn gravy train”, challenging the medical basis for such claims and highlighting the fact that in Greece and Lithuania, where there is no expectation of financial gain from whiplash, chronic neck pain following a car crash appears simply not to

Costs budgeting is designed to ensure proportionate costs are incurred by setting budgets at an early stage in the proceedings. Costs are proportionate if they bear a reasonable relationship to the sums in issue in the proceedings and the other relevant factors set out in CPR 44.3(5). That being the case, how often do judges,

The Costs Lawyer Standards Board has just finished a consultation process on a proposal to allow a new route to qualification as a Costs Lawyer.  The CLSB is proposing to introduce a new test which would lead to Costs Lawyer status. The test would be open to anyone who can evidence that they have achieved