Specialist Costs Lawyers - Trusted advisors to Central and Local Government
Jessica Swannell, A&M Bacon, stresses the importance and benefits of seeking out regulated and qualified Costs Lawyers to support your practice.
Long gone are the days where anyone could call themselves a ‘Costs Draftsmen’ and were able to work on any legal case. Since 31 October 2011, the Costs Lawyer Standards Board (CLSB) became an Approved Regulator under the Legal Services Act 2007. Its regulatory work for the Costs Lawyer profession includes setting and maintaining standards. The Legal Services Board oversees the work of the CLSB to ensure all regulatory provisions are met under the Legal Services Act 2007 and other prevailing legislation.
Knowing your costs lawyer from the rest
The Association of Costs Lawyers has and continues to be the representative arm for Costs Lawyers. Unlike ‘costs draftsmen’, Costs Lawyers have to undertake a three-year complex training course with various assignments and exams to qualify. Furthermore, a Costs Lawyer with a practicing certificate is:
Historically there have been three key areas that Costs Lawyers would be involved in which are:
However, since the Jackson reforms in 2013, a Costs Lawyer’s role has expanded and will continue to expand in the fast pace of the ever-changing litigation landscape.
An integral role
Costs Lawyers study contract and tort law so are able to consider and review retainers that, after all, are the life blood of a case. I have spent many hours lecturing on litigation funding and how to get retainers water-tight in order to ensure payment at the end of a case.
Costs budgeting was previously conducted before Jackson in some circumstance but this has been one of the major changes to a Costs Lawyer’s job since the Jackson reforms. Rather than being involved at the end of the case to usually prepare a Bill of Costs or to consider the reasonableness of the same, Costs Budgeting has brought the services of a Costs Lawyer at the forefront of cases.
The benefits for a modern litigation age
From experience, litigation funding review and costs budgeting go hand in hand. What doesn’t always happen is that there are two types of recovery of costs, one that is recovered from your client and one that is recovered, in general terms from the losing party. There has been weakness in these two areas as they have been considered separately when in fact they should be considered jointly by a law firm.
Understanding your business
A new area that seems to becoming increasingly busy is legal practice management. This is where a review of a client’s file is conducted and advice is provided on running cases efficiently and effectively to maximise the recovery. To have an understanding of how this works, it is also, for a Costs Lawyer like myself, often essential to be experienced and trained in legal practice management.
One of the legal practice management elements that helps our role is to understand how its legal software works. No one legal software solution is the same, given that all law firms are different and have different business modules/plans. Each firm must be reviewed on its own merits to ascertain the best direction for its remuneration and the software used.
There has also been a vast rise in panel auditing in time where budgets are being stretched and cut. I previously audited invoices for a firm of solicitors whilst comparing the same to the contract. This resulted in thousands of pounds worth of savings. A lot of law firms and insurance companies are very nervous about going down this route given that there would already be a solid relationship between the client and the supplier. The key to making panel auditing work is they have both the supplier and client on board; for them both to see the long-term positives of the panel auditing. A lot of companies believe panel auditing aims to catch a firm out or to make reductions. Actually, from my experience, it strengthens the relationship and has a positive impact on the contract and relationship.
ADR
One of the major positives of the Jackson reform is Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Mediation is something that every Costs Lawyer should be involved. Given the back-log and restraints placed on the Judiciary to keep up with the amount of litigation cases each year, mediation is a positive step forward for both parties involved.
What next for Costs Lawyers?
In 10 years’ time I am sure the role of the Costs Lawyer will adapt even further and that, the ‘unknown’ is exactly what drives me forwards!
Jessica Swannell is a Costs Lawyer & Practice Manager of A&M Bacon Limited.
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