Author name: Simon Gibbs

The Court of Appeal has given an important judgment on the issue of the costs of provisional assessment.  In W Portsmouth and Company Ltd v Lowin [2017] EWCA Civ 2172, the Court ruled that the £,1500 cap on the costs of provisional assessment continues to apply even where a party has succeeded on a Part

The Court of Appeal decision in BNM v MGN Ltd [2017] EWCA Civ 1767 manages to be both very important and a massive anti-climax. The decision is important because it finally resolves the issue of whether post-1 April 2013 additional liabilities are subject to the old or new proportionality test.  The answer is that the old test applies

In light of the problems facing ACL Training, I commented that: “It seems unlikely it can possibly continue in its current form”. Unsurprisingly, the CLSB has now announced that it is to suspend any further intake onto the current three year Costs Lawyer qualification. The CLSB “will now focus on other means of entry into

The negative impact of the Jackson reforms continues apace. Virtually simultaneous to the news about Just Costs, is the announcement that defendant costs firm Cost Advocates is to close at the end of the year. As an example of the rise and fall of the costs industry, Cost Advocates’ story is, perhaps, even more dramatic

The inevitable post-Jackson shake down continues to make itself felt across the industry. Back in December 2016, costs firm Just Costs Ltd entered into a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) due to significant debts including owing £781,758 to HM Revenue & Customs. In a statement at the time, the firm said: ‘The business has traded profitably

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has an online guide about Costs and Legal Aid for members of the public. In relation to Conditional Fee Agreements, it states: “your lawyer will only get paid if the case is successful. If you lose your claim, your lawyer does not get paid”. Am I alone in being concerned that

Last week’s annual ACL Conference saw speakers include: Lord Justice Jackson Senior Costs Judge Master Gordon-Saker Costs Judge Master James Master McCloud Regional Costs Judge Besford Regional Costs Judge Lethem Regional Costs Judge Lumb Regional Costs Judge Middleton Nicholas Bacon QC Simon Browne QC PJ Kirby QC Andrew Post QC Vikram Sachdeva QC Dr Mark

The only body authorised to provide the Costs Lawyer qualification is ACL Training.  This is wholly owned by the Association of Costs Lawyers.  This is not a stich up but simply a reflection of the fact the demand for training has always been so limited that no other academic organisation would dream of trying to

One of the areas of costs I deal with arises from property damage claims; typically following fire, flood or tree root damage. Although these claims are usually pursued in the name of the owner of the damaged property, in reality these are subrogated claimed being brought by the insurer of the property owner and seeking