Updated 28 August 2026

Careers at SPH Costs

SPH Costs is a specialist legal costs practice acting for solicitors, insurers, local authorities, Legal Aid firms, paying parties and receiving parties throughout England & Wales. We are actively recruiting experienced Costs Lawyers, Law Costs Draftsmen and legal costs professionals across two key areas:

Legal Aid costs, CCMS billing, High Costs Case Plans and Court of Protection Legal Aid work
Detailed assessment and inter partes costs disputes for both paying and receiving parties

Our immediate priority is the recruitment of experienced Legal Aid costs professionals who can assist with CCMS claims, High Costs Case Plans, escape fee claims, prior authority issues, LAA queries, reassessments and publicly funded Court of Protection work.

Applications and informal enquiries are handled confidentially.

Apply: hr@sphcosts.com

Experienced Legal Aid Costs Professionals Wanted

SPH Costs is particularly interested in hearing from experienced Legal Aid Costs Draftsmen, Costs Lawyers and Legal Aid billing professionals. This is a priority recruitment area for the firm. We are looking for candidates with experience in one or more of the following:

CCMS billing
High Costs Case Plans
Legal Aid costs drafting
CLAIM1 and CLAIM1A preparation
escape fee claims
prior authority issues
LAA queries and rejected claims
Legal Aid reassessments
Legal Aid costs appeals
Court of Protection Legal Aid costs
publicly funded family, housing, community care or civil litigation costs
CostsMaster or electronic costs workflows

This role is not aimed at standalone deputyship or general management Court of Protection costs work. The Court of Protection experience we are particularly interested in is Legal Aid-related Court of Protection costs work.

Candidates should ideally be able to manage Legal Aid files with a degree of independence, although support and supervision will be available where required. We are interested in speaking to candidates from:

specialist Legal Aid costs firms
law costs drafting practices
solicitors' firms with internal Legal Aid billing teams
publicly funded Court of Protection departments
costs teams handling CCMS, HCCPs or LAA assessment work

If you have strong Legal Aid costs experience and are considering a move, you are welcome to make a confidential enquiry before submitting a formal application.

Why Legal Aid Costs Experience Matters To Us

Legal Aid costs recovery is a key growth area for SPH Costs. We are particularly interested in candidates who understand the practical difficulties firms face when dealing with:

delayed Legal Aid payments
rejected CCMS claims
LAA clarification requests
escape fee disputes
High Costs Case Plan amendments
prior authority issues
complex publicly funded Court of Protection matters
reassessments and appeals

This is specialist technical work. We are not looking for generic administrators. We are looking for people who understand Legal Aid recovery and can help firms protect payment, reduce delay and manage assessment risk.

Detailed Assessment Costs Lawyer / Costs Draftsman

We are also recruiting experienced Costs Lawyers and Law Costs Draftsmen with expertise in detailed assessment and inter partes costs disputes. This role may involve both paying party and receiving party work.

Typical work includes:

drafting Bills of Costs
preparing Points of Dispute
preparing Replies
advising on recoverability and proportionality
paying party costs disputes
receiving party costs recovery
detailed assessment proceedings
negotiations and settlement
costs strategy
electronic bills

Experience in CPR Part 47, paying party disputes, receiving party recovery, advocacy or higher-value inter partes litigation would be particularly valuable.

This role may suit candidates from:

paying party backgrounds
receiving party backgrounds
insurer or local authority costs teams
claimant costs teams
independent costs drafting practices
specialist costs firms

We are particularly interested in candidates who can analyse costs disputes commercially and strategically, rather than simply process documents.

Why Join SPH Costs?

SPH Costs is a specialist-only costs practice. Our team works exclusively in legal costs, including:

Legal Aid costs recovery
CCMS billing
High Costs Case Plans
detailed assessment proceedings
paying party disputes
receiving party recovery
Court of Protection Legal Aid costs
costs budgeting and costs strategy

This means candidates gain exposure to technical, specialist costs work rather than general litigation administration or volume file handling. We offer:

remote, hybrid and office-based working
secure electronic file systems
national work across England & Wales
complex and varied costs matters
early responsibility on substantive files
support from experienced costs professionals
opportunities to develop specialist expertise

For experienced Legal Aid candidates, SPH Costs offers the opportunity to work on technically demanding costs matters including CCMS claims, HCCPs, escape fees, prior authority, LAA queries, reassessments and publicly funded Court of Protection work.

Working Arrangements

SPH Costs offers flexible working arrangements, including:

remote working
hybrid working
office-based roles

Our work is supported by secure electronic file systems, allowing costs professionals to work effectively with firms and clients across England & Wales. We are open to confidential discussions with experienced candidates who may require flexibility around location, working pattern or existing commitments.

Who We Want To Hear From

We are particularly interested in candidates who have experience in:

Legal Aid costs
CCMS billing
High Costs Case Plans
Court of Protection Legal Aid costs
escape fee claims
prior authority
LAA queries
reassessments
detailed assessment
Bills of Costs
Points of Dispute
Replies
paying party costs disputes
receiving party costs recovery
CostsMaster or electronic costs workflows

You do not need to fit every category. If you have strong experience in Legal Aid costs or detailed assessment work, we would welcome a confidential enquiry.

Confidential Enquiries

We understand that experienced costs professionals may not want to make a formal application immediately.

If you have Legal Aid costs, CCMS, HCCP, Court of Protection Legal Aid, paying party or receiving party costs experience and would like an initial confidential discussion, you are welcome to contact us before sending a CV.

Email: hr@sphcosts.com