Costs budgeting is a critical part of effective litigation, yet common mistakes can significantly limit costs recovery. This article explores frequent costs budgeting errors, including underestimating future phases, weak budget assumptions, and failing to update budgets as cases develop. It explains how early and ongoing involvement of specialist costs draftsmen can help solicitors prepare realistic budgets, manage spend, reduce disputes, and protect recoverable litigation co

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

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.

A guide to Solicitors Act assessments and the one-fifth rule under section 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974. Learn when a client can challenge a solicitor’s bill and who pays the costs of assessment.

**Editorial note:** This case note discusses costs disallowance for misconduct. For a broader view of litigation costs recoverability, detailed assessment consequences, and costs risk, see our guide to specialist costs lawyers and law costs draftsmen . There have, in the past, been occasions where allegations have been made that a receiving party has incorrectly or even inappropriately included work in between the parties costs claims, such allegations being most normally ve

Indemnity costs must be judged by conduct at the time, not with hindsight. Understanding this distinction is vital for resisting or advancing indemnity costs arguments at detailed assessment.

Refusal to mediate – sanctions won’t always apply. Following the decision of Briggs LJ in PGF II SA v OMFS Company 1 Limited [2013] EWCA...

Issues surrounding retainers and client invoicing are not just solicitor–client concerns. They frequently resurface later during costs assessment, where paying parties examine whether costs were properly incurred under a valid retainer. If the retainer wording, scope of authority, or charging structure is unclear, opponents may argue that work was not recoverable at all, not because it was unnecessary, but because the entitlement to charge was defective. The case below highli

The debate over interest is one which has been ongoing since the inception of the aged legislation which still governs entitlement to it, section 17 of the Judgements Act 1838 as enacted, which stated “XVII​ Judgment Debts to carry Interest. And be it enacted, That every Judgment Debt shall carry Interest at the Rate of Four Pounds per Centum per Annum from the Time of entering up the Judgment, or from the Time of the Commencement of this Act in Cases of Judgments then ente

Requesting Provisional/Detailed Assessment of Costs – avoiding potential pitfalls. It is imperative that matters are not delayed unduly as, whilst permission to Commence or Request an Assessment, either Provisional or Detailed of Costs, out of time is no longer required, there are penalties for delays. In addition to the 3 months allowed for commencement of the assessment process (CPR 47.7), CPR 47.14 (1) further provides that “Where points of dispute are served in accordance

Provisional assessment under CPR 47.15 was introduced to deal with lower value detailed assessments on the papers rather than through a full oral hearing. The procedure currently applies where the bill of costs does not exceed £75,000. The Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL) is currently undertaking a survey of its members to assess how effective the provisional assessment process has been in practice. The survey also asks whether the £75,000 limit remains appropriate. When th