Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why use a costs lawyer as opposed to a costs draftsman?
A. See our costs lawyer page. If you use a costs lawyer you can be sure you are instructing a regulated individual who has rights of audience, has undergone training and has professional indemnity insurance
Q. I have just won a case and my solicitor tells me I will only recover 70% of my costs from my opponent is that correct?
A. It could be! An award of costs is not a perfect indemnity, a specialist costs judge will decide how much of your costs it is reasonable for your opponent to pay. There are two bases on which you may have been awarded your costs, the standard basis and the indemnity basis. If they have been awarded on the indemnity basis you would normally recover more than on the standard basis
Q. My solicitor has just sent me a bill for £20000 but he told me the case would cost 10-12000 at the outset. What can I do about this?
A. If your solicitor has not revised the original estimate and explained why the costs have been increased, a Costs Judge would take the estimate into account when assessing the reasonableness of your solicitor’s costs
Q. My client won't pay my bills and has asked me to get them assessed. What procedure should I follow?
A. It is best to encourage the client to make the application for assessment as there will be costs implications if the solicitor invokes the process but the client dos not take part. There are a number of options to follow, contact us for detailed and full advice
Q. What does no win no fee actually mean?
A. In litigation, it means if you win your opponent will pay your solicitors charges, if you lose he will not be paid. The solicitor is compensated for the cases he loses by being paid an additional success fee in the successful cases
Q. Now that the Conditional fee regulations have been abolished can I enter into a contingency fee agreement?
A. Not in respect of litigation, contingency fee arrangements other than CFA’s are still not approved by statute or in common law and are accordingly still unlawful