hourly rates

The recent decision of His Honour Judge Matthews, sitting as a High Court judge, in EJW Builders Ltd & Anor v Marshall & Ors (Re Costs) [2025] EWHC 2898 (Ch) questioned whether Wraith v Sheffield Forgemasters Ltd/Truscott v Truscott [1997] EWCA Civ 2285 would be decided the same today. The Truscott decision is summarised in the […]

One of the apparent anomalies to emerge from Mazur & Anor v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP [2025] EWHC 2341 (KB) is the fact that Chartered Legal Executives with over 8 years’ experience are treated as Grade A fee earners for the purposes of the Guideline Hourly Rates despite the fact that many of them are

The latest guideline hourly rates, increased in accordance with the Services Producer Price Index (SPPI), came into force from 1 January 2025. Grade Fee earner London 1 London 2 London 3 National 1 National 2 A Solicitors and legal executives with over 8 years’ experience £566 (£546) £413 (£398) £312 (£301) £288 (£278) £282 (£272) B Solicitors

The Master of the Rolls has approved new guideline hourly rates to come into force from 1 January 2024 and thereafter to be uplifted annually by the Services Producer Price Index. Grade Fee earner London 1 London 2 London 3 National 1 National 2 A Solicitors and legal executives with over 8 years’ experience £546 (£512) £398 (£373)

In Samsung Electronics Co Ltd v LG Display Co Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 466 the Court of Appeal observed that a “clear and compelling justification must be provided” to depart upwards from London 1 Guideline Hourly Rates (GHRs) as “the guideline rates for London 1 already assume that the litigation in question qualifies as ‘very heavy

The Civil Justice Council’s consultation on Guideline Hourly Rates (GHRs) ends today. One of the questions put out for consultation was whether the N260 for summary assessment and the information provided in a formal Bill of Costs for detailed assessment should require the signatory to specify the location of the fee earners who carried out

The decision of His Honour Judge Mark Pelling QC in ABS Company Ltd v Pantaenius UK Ltd & Ors [2020] EWHC 3720 (Comm) has already generated a certain amount of interest in relation to his comments as to the appropriate hourly rates to allow in a summary assessment. The underlying claim proceeded in the shorter

The problem with the 2020 Guideline Hourly Rates is that there aren’t any.  Because nature abhors a vacuum, the judiciary has been taking steps to fill the void. In PLK & Ors (Court of Protection : Costs) [2020] EWHC B28 (Costs), Master Whalan gave guidance as to the appropriate hourly rate for Deputies in Court of

Although those working in legal costs tend to get very excited about the latest obscure technical challenge, it is the routine areas of dispute that have the greatest impact on the largest number of cases.  A costs judge allowing an hourly rate of 20% more or less than anticipated will usually completely throw any offers

A firm of solicitors is prepared to accept instructions to act in an RTA claim where the claimant has the benefit of BTE insurance and where the BTE policy will pay the solicitors an hourly rate of £130 across the board, including work done by Grade A fee earners. The limit of the BTE indemnity