Oral Hearings After Provisional Assessment: Paying Party Risks and Strategy

What Happens at Provisional Assessment?

For bills under £75,000, the court will usually conduct a paper-based provisional assessment.

No hearing takes place initially.

The court:

• Marks the bill or Precedent G

• Sends the result to the parties

• Limits costs of the process

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👉 See: Points of Dispute for Paying Parties

The 21-Day Deadline

A party seeking an oral hearing must:

• File a written request

• Identify the disputed items

• Provide a time estimate

• Act within 21 days

If no request is made, the provisional result becomes binding.

The 20% Risk Rule

The key tactical point:

If the requesting party does not achieve a 20% improvement, they pay the costs of the hearing. This creates significant risk for receiving parties and strong leverage for paying parties.

When Paying Parties Should Seek an Oral Hearing

An oral hearing is justified where:

✔ there are large proportionality issues

✔ global reductions are appropriate

✔ expert or counsel fees are challenged

✔ there are major delegation disputes

👉 See: Challenging Counsel’s Fees at Detailed Assessment

👉 See: Challenging Expert Fees at Detailed Assessment

When Paying Parties Should Not Seek a Hearing

Avoid an oral hearing where:

• reductions are modest

• arithmetic only is disputed

• risk of failing the 20% threshold is high

In those cases, the provisional result may be the optimal outcome.

Tactical Use in Negotiation

The 20% rule gives paying parties leverage:

• threaten hearing only where safe

• use risk to force settlement

• target key high-value items

This is often decisive in post-provisional negotiations.

👉 See: Detailed Assessment Paying Party Services

Why This Matters

Many receiving parties request hearings without analysing risk.

Paying parties who understand:

• the 20% rule

• proportionality arguments

• high-value items

  
  

can secure favourable settlements without further cost.

Key Takeaways

✔ Provisional assessment is paper-based

✔ 21-day deadline is strict

✔ 20% rule creates real cost risk

✔ Oral hearings should be used strategically

✔ Paying parties gain negotiation leverage

Detailed Assessment Strategy Guides

• Detailed Assessment of Costs: The Complete Guide

• Paying Party Detailed Assessment Strategy

• How Paying Parties Challenge a Bill of Costs

• Proportionality Challenges at Detailed Assessment

• Fee Earner Delegation Challenges at Detailed Assessment

• Guideline Hourly Rates 2026

• Intermediate Track Costs Tables