Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly has announced that the government is to ban referral fees
TMC offers new innovative financing option to its clients
As part of our philosophy of helping our clients wherever we can, we have negotiated an agreement with VFS Legal. This allows you to apply for funding to improve your cash flow, without affecting your banking facilities. This flexible funding makes it easier for you to develop your Practice.
To the surprise of some the Court of Appeal has overturned the Senior Costs Judge’s ruling inSylvia Henry -v- News Group Newspapers LTD [2012] EWHC 90218 (Costs).
Background
The Claimant social worker had brought libel proceedings against The Sun newspaper after it published articles concerning her involvement in the cases of Victoria Climbié and Baby P. The proceedings were settled and the Claimant was entitled to recover her costs on the standard basis. Both parties had exceeded their budgets. The Claimant’s solicitors had gone over by almost £300,000, largely as a result of witness statements and disclosure.
Master Hurst’s Decision
Master Hurst had to decide whether there was a “good reason” to depart from the Claimant’s budget. He found that there was not…
” It is clear that the Claimant did not keep either the Defendant or the Court informed of the fact that its budget was being exceeded… The fact that both sides exceeded their budgets does not assist the Claimant… The provisions of the Practice Direction are in mandatory terms… Whilst … I have no doubt that the Claimant could make out a very good case on detailed assessment for the costs being claimed, the fact is that the Claimant has largely ignored the provisions of the Practice Direction and I therefore reluctantly come to the conclusion that there is no good reason to depart from the budget. “
Appeal
In overturning this decision Lord Justice Moore-Bick said…
“[Budgets] are intended to provide a form of control rather than a licence to conduct litigation in an unnecessarily expensive way. Equally, however, it may turn out for one reason or another that the proper conduct of the proceedings is more expensive than originally expected.”
He did however go on to point out that the the rules coming into force on 1 April 2013 differ “in some important respects” to those of the defamation costs management pilot, under which Henry v NGN was conducted…
“In particular they impose greater responsibility on the court for the management of the costs of proceedings and greater responsibility on the parties for keeping budgets under review as the proceedings progress. Read as a whole they lay greater emphasis on the importance of the approved or agreed budget as providing a prima facie limit on the amount of recoverable costs… although the court will still have the power to depart [from it] if it is satisfied that there is good reason to do so.”
The Court found that the Senior Costs Judge had taken too narrow a view as to what amounted to “good reason” to depart from the Claimant’s budget.
We are proud to announce that following an assessment by an independent organisation T M Costings Ltd has been successful in achieving ISO 9001 Certification. This Internationally recognised prestigious award for quality is an International Standard in use worldwide as the benchmark for Quality. The award recognises our commitment to an exceptional quality of service. With only around 3% of UK businesses holding this Certificate T M Costings Ltd are now at the forefront of quality service and customer care.
The Association of Costs Lawyers has appointed its first Chief Executive Officer.
Maurice Cheng has been appointed to the role, which has been created to help the profession thrive in the post Jackson world. Mr Cheng is currently part-time chief executive of the British Osteopathic Association (BOA), and has over 10 years’ board-level experience of leading change and transformation in professional bodies. He will work part-time and combine his ACL role with that at the BOA.
ACL chairman, Murray Heining, said….
Maurice’s appointment marks the start of a new era for the ACL. Hitherto we have relied on council members giving up their time to push the association forward, and outstanding though their contribution has been for many years, there is only so much that can be achieved this way. By having a dedicated CEO, particularly one with Maurice’s experience, I believe we will accelerate our work to ensure that costs lawyers are at the heart of the new legal landscape.
Mr Cheng added….
The Jackson reforms have already raised the profile of the ACL and its members, and I see it as my job to reach the position where every law firm appointing a costs specialist makes membership of the ACL a prerequisite. The opportunities for the ACL to grow and to promote the professionalism of costs lawyers have never been greater and I look forward to playing my part in achieving this.
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and the Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS) have this afternoon issued a judicial review of the government’s proposal to cut the basic RTA portal fee from £1,200 to £500. Read the full Litigation Futures article here.
The Master of the Rolls has received a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Civil Costs on an increase to the Guideline Hourly Rates for 2011.
The Committee has recommended an earnings related increase for 2011, but the Master of the Rolls has asked the Committee to seek additional information and provide further evidence to allow him to make a more considered decision.
In the meantime, and until further notice, the Guideline Hourly Rates for 2010 will continue to be applied.
The Supreme Court has updated its Practice Directions to reflect the Jackson reforms.
The changes came into effect on 7 November 2013 and include PD13 related to costs. The opportunity has been taken to make a number of changes three years into the operation of the Supreme Court, to simplify the practice direction wherever possible and to take into account both the new Parts 44-47 of the Civil Procedure Rules and the replacement of the Legal Services Commission by the Legal Aid Agency in April of this year. Some of these developments have specifically been reflected in the practice direction. However, it remains that the scheme of Practice Direction 13 will be that “to the extent that the Supreme Court Rules and Practice Directions do not cover the situation, the Rules and Practice Directions which supplement Part 44-47 of the Civil Procedure Rules are applied by analogy at the discretion of the Costs Officers, with appropriate modification for appeals from Scotland and Northern Ireland”.
See the new Practice Directions.
A draft of The Civil Legal Aid (Costs) Regulations 2013, which make provision about costs orders in civil proceedings in favour of or against a legally aided party and, in certain circumstances, against the Lord Chancellor has been published. These come into force on 1st April 2013.
We are pleased to announce a further new member of our rapidly expanding team, Tracy Simmonds who joins us from the in house costing department of a leading personal injury firm.