Legal Costs

I spent an enjoyable Saturday chairing a costs seminar that was being run by the Association of Costs Lawyer. (Hey, it beat Christmas shopping.) Some very interesting sessions from Simon Edwards from 39 Essex Street, Simon Brown from Crown Office Chambers (yes, there really were three Simons) and the ACL’s ever reliable Educational Development Officer […]

I am delighted to announce that I have been nominated for “the Asset & Wealth Management law expert position in England”. To be nominated for this prestigious position required recommendation either externally or by a special research team, and then approval by an applications panel. If I accept this position, for a “nominal” fee of

A number of amendments to the CPR that will implement the Jackson costs reforms are being held over until October 2012. That date is set to be the “big bang” for implementation of a package of reforms. One of the apparent amendments, as recently reported in the New Law Journal, is a rule change to

Implementation of the Jackson costs reforms has moved a step closer with the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill passing its second reading in the House of Lords, despite 51 of the 54 members who rose to speak criticising the bill. However little time was spent debating the civil costs reforms and this

The Costs Law Articles Archive section of Legal Costs Central has been updated with a couple of articles from 2006 dealing with CFA challenges from the height of the costs wars.  Thanks to Kings Chambers. Click image to enlarge:   www.qccartoon.com

A recent survey by a legal recruitment consultancy reported: “When asked to rate their confidence in the jobs’ market on a scale ranging from 10 (very optimistic) to -10 (very pessimistic), the average score for lawyers was -7.8.” It was not reported as to whether any law costs draftsmen or costs lawyers had taken part

Barrister Andrew Crouch, writing in Solicitors Journal Bar Focus supplement highlights an interesting problem that will apply equally to barristers and solicitors post-Jackson concerning the operation of the proposed 25% success fee cap based on general damages and past losses: “lawyers in the post-Jackson reform world are also going to have to get used to

Lord Justice Jackson’s recent paper for the Civil Justice Council Workshop on “Technical Aspects of Implementation” opens with the quote: “Cultivate simplicity, Coleridge” The footnote advises this comes from Charles Lamb’s advice to Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1796. Nice to see a CH link slipped in.  

Jack Straw’s attempt to make the payment of referral fees a criminal offence has failed (in part because of concerns over the burden of proof required). Instead the proposed ban will be dealt with by the regulators. Dominic Regan, writing in the New Law Journal, suggests this is: “the most sensible way of enforcing a

The Court of Appeal handed down judgment on 12 October 2011 in Motto & Others v Trafigura [2011] EWCA Civ 1150 ruling that funding costs are not recoverable. How long will I have to wait before all bills of costs have stopped claiming for this work?