Assessing legal costs of complex court cases - Draftsmen on Job


Settling legal costs in civil litigation in England has become more complex over years. It is unfortunate to see successful litigants struggling with proper disbursement of recoverable costs. What if you are not awarded the entire legal costs incurred during the court proceedings? What if your solicitor sends you an unexpectedly high invoice or a disputed bill?

To cover these kinds of event you need a law costs draftsman who can conduct a detailed assessment of all legal costs and resolve the disbursement issues between successful and unsuccessful parties. In England and Wales, this (law of costs) is a typical of common law jurisdictions which demands an experienced practitioner to resolve the matter. And, who better than a law costs consultant to help prepare a detailed bill of costs?

Law costs draftsmen are experienced in detailed assessments of legal costs – whether it is Inter Parte costs, solicitor-client costs or legal fees, costs in third-party claims and legal aid costs for solicitors. If you are an unsatisfied litigant here are the ways a law costs draftsman can help you in successful claims.

For Inter Parte costs: 

If the unsuccessful party does not agree to pay you the litigation costs, you may file with the court a detailed breakdown of the costs and expenses incurred. This is known as bill of costs which a Law costs draftsman usually prepare and serve to the officer of the court or district judge for  final decisions. The draftsman gets involved with all these procedural steps so that the costs can be agreed between parties.

For solicitor-client costs:

At times, you may be unhappy with the solicitor bills for the services rendered. Therefore, you may require the costs to be assessed on indemnity basis for their reasonableness by a judge.  On request, a law costs consultant can prepare the detailed assessment which may result in decreased lawyer's invoice. In case, the reduced amount is more than the 1/5th, the solicitor has to pay for the assessment process, not you.

In addition, if you are the victim of champerty, upon court instructions, the law costs work consultants can assess your case. It is good to know that, in English law, solicitors are not allowed to work for the share of awards or compensatory benefits received from the lawsuits. Other than preparing bill of costs, the law costs specialists can advise a client on necessary legal procedures. If needed, they can also argue in support of the bill or oppose it. 

Legal aid costs:  Other than private clients, law costs draftsman can also serve solicitors who represent publicly-funded clients.  In such cases, legal service commission or court may ask for a detailed bill before payment is made to the solicitor from the community legal fund.  Even for criminal cases, if there is any such objectionable matter regarding payment amount, law costs draftsman can prepare the written submissions.



Samantha George, a legal practitioner, discusses on the role of Law costs draftsmen in civil litigation cases. He suggests clients to seek their help for any legal cost related issues.  You may also visit http://www.jenningslegalservices.co.uk/ to know about the services in detail.


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