A New Digital Dawn: Legal Aid Agency Unveils Silas, SPH Embraces the Change

Court of Protection Billing Update – 01st December 2025

The Legal Aid Agency’s Client and Cost Management System (CCMS) is now entrenched in everyday practice for legal aid firms. However, despite years of use, many solicitors and caseworkers still face frustrating CCMS rejections, delays, or requests for further information — all of which slow down cash flow and create unnecessary administrative burdens. With the reintroduction of the portal imminent, now is a good time to revisit common reasons for rejection. The vast majority

How Deputies Can Maximise Court of Protection Bills: A Practical Guide

The pilot scheme is due to end on 28th April. However, the Court will continue to accept electronic bills after that date given that the...

We would welcome the opportunity of demonstrating our exceptional Legal Aid High-Cost Case plan service to you. We can assist Clients with either traditional paper files or those who are paperless. ​ We can assist as follows: ​Family Cases: We can prepare High-Cost Case Plans under the VHCC CCFS scheme to include both interim and final High-Cost Case Plans, collating the significant amount of supporting documentation required by the LAA, completion of the CCFS contract wit

Notice to customers regarding Court of Protection bills

lectronic filing is routine, but filing errors can increase costs exposure. Understanding how e-filing mistakes affect recoverability and disputes is key to effective costs management.

The Civil Justice Council has published its final report on guideline hourly rates. The full report can be found here: https://www.judiciary.uk/announcements/civil-justice-council-publishes-final-report-on-guideline-hourly-rates

GHCR – latest recommendations released The writer has previously reported the most recent case law addressing the considerably outdated...

Summary assessment has always been, in the writer’s opinion, somewhat of a “rough and ready” affair and whilst it is generally accepted...

**Editorial note:** This article provided COVID-19–specific guidance. For current specialist legal costs guidance and services, see our overview of Costs Lawyers and Law Costs Draftsmen . First and foremost, all of us at SPH Costing Services hope that you and your families remain well in these unusual times. As we have all seen in the news recently, it would appear that the country not only remains firmly in the grip of the current COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, with many

Costs Judge Master Whelan today handed down Judgment in the matter of PLK & Others which provides guidance to Costs Officers who assess...

Legal Aid costs are no longer “taxed” by the court, but reductions by the LAA remain common. This guide explains how CCMS claims are assessed in practice, why bills are cut, and how proper narratives, evidence, and escape fee strategy can maximise recovery.

Costs Budgeting – latest update to CPR heralds new Precedent T, Budget Variation Since the inception of the CPR in 1999, there have been many and varied amendments to the Rules, such that pursuant to the Civil Procedure (Amendment No 3) Rules 2020 the latest, 122nd Update to the Practice Direction comes mostly into force on 1 October 2020, with some provisions coming into force earlier on 23 August 2020. In advance of the same, and most pertinent to the realm of costs, the

VAT treatment in costs budgets is more than a technical drafting issue. The Marbrow decision affects recoverability strategy, paying party exposure, and how proportionality arguments play out at assessment.

Remote costs drafting and advocacy for detailed assessment, paying party costs and legal aid costs across England and Wales using secure electronic files and flexible working.

With effect from today, the procedure for processing Bills in the Supreme Court Costs Office (SCCO) will fundamentally change in...

A practical guide to the modern Fixed Recoverable Costs regime, including the expansion of FRC, the intermediate track, fixed costs tables and strategic implications for litigators, insurers and paying parties.

Practitioners should be aware of a very important change to the budgeting regime coming into effect from 1 October 2019 by way of the...