Legal Costs Consultants
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ARC Costs provides specialist legal costs consultancy services to solicitors, law firms and organisations across England and Wales. Our experienced Costs Lawyers and Costs Draftsmen assist with the preparation, recovery, negotiation and assessment of legal costs in civil litigation.
Whether you need to prepare a Bill of Costs, challenge your opponent’s costs, draft a Precedent H budget or arrange representation at a detailed assessment hearing, our team can assist.
We work with both paying and receiving parties across a wide range of litigation, providing practical advice and support at every stage of the costs process.
Speak to our legal costs consultants today to discuss your requirements.
Specialist Legal Costs Consultancy Services
Legal costs can be complicated, particularly in high-value or contested litigation. The amount claimed, the terms of a costs order and the rules governing recovery can all affect how much a party ultimately pays or receives.
Our legal costs consultants help solicitors deal with these issues, from preparing costs documents during proceedings to resolving disputes once a case has concluded.
Bills of Costs
Following settlement or judgment, a receiving party may need to prepare a Bill of Costs setting out the legal work undertaken and the amount claimed.
Our Costs Draftsmen and Costs Lawyers prepare Bills of Costs for detailed assessment proceedings, including electronic Bills of Costs where required.
We review time records, hourly rates, disbursements and the relevant costs order to ensure the claim is accurately prepared and supported.
We also assist with high-value and complex Bills of Costs involving multiple fee earners, expert evidence and substantial litigation expenditure.
Costs Budgeting and Precedent H
Accurate costs budgeting is important in multi-track litigation. A poorly prepared budget can affect the amount of legal costs ultimately recoverable from the opposing party.
ARC Costs provides specialist Precedent H costs budget preparation, including reviewing costs already incurred, estimating future expenditure and preparing supporting assumptions.
Our services also include Precedent R budget discussion reports, costs negotiations, budget monitoring and applications to vary approved budgets using Precedent T.
We can assist before the first costs and case management conference or provide support where the case has developed beyond the assumptions in an existing budget.
Points of Dispute and Points of Reply
Where a paying party considers a Bill of Costs excessive, it may challenge the amount claimed by serving Points of Dispute.
Our legal costs consultants prepare Points of Dispute for paying parties, identifying potential challenges to hourly rates, time spent, duplication of work, disbursements and proportionality.
We also prepare Points of Reply for receiving parties responding to those objections.
Our approach is to identify the issues that genuinely affect the amount recoverable, rather than raising unnecessary disputes that increase the time and expense of the assessment process.
Detailed Assessment and Costs Negotiations
Where legal costs cannot be agreed, the dispute may proceed to detailed assessment.
ARC Costs assists with detailed assessment proceedings, including reviewing Bills of Costs, preparing the necessary documents and negotiating settlement.
Our team can also assist with representation at detailed assessment hearings, where the court determines the amount of costs payable.
We aim to resolve costs disputes efficiently wherever possible, while ensuring that our clients’ positions are properly prepared if a hearing becomes necessary.
Costs Lawyer Advocacy
Some costs disputes require specialist representation, particularly where complex legal arguments or substantial sums are involved.
Our Costs Lawyer services include assistance with costs applications, detailed assessment hearings and other costs-related proceedings.
An authorised Costs Lawyer can exercise rights of audience and conduct costs litigation within the scope of their professional authorisation.
This provides solicitors with access to specialist costs representation without necessarily having to instruct separate counsel.
Legal Costs Consultants for Paying and Receiving Parties
ARC Costs acts for both parties seeking to recover legal costs and those responsible for paying them.
Recovering Legal Costs
Where a client has obtained a favourable costs order, the next step is often to establish how much can be recovered.
We assist receiving parties with preparing Bills of Costs, reviewing supporting records, responding to Points of Dispute and negotiating settlements.
Early involvement can help identify potential difficulties with the costs claim before the Bill is served.
Challenging Legal Costs
Paying parties may receive Bills of Costs containing charges they consider unreasonable or excessive.
Our legal costs consultants examine the work claimed, the applicable hourly rates, disbursements and any relevant costs management order.
We can then advise on the appropriate grounds of challenge, prepare Points of Dispute and assist with negotiations or detailed assessment.
Our role is to help clients understand their potential liability and ensure that the amount paid reflects the applicable costs rules.
Legal Costs Consultancy Across Different Areas of Law
Different types of litigation can raise different costs issues. ARC Costs provides specialist support across a range of practice areas.
Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Costs
Personal injury and clinical negligence claims can involve substantial legal costs, particularly where proceedings require expert evidence, complex disclosure or lengthy negotiations.
We assist with clinical negligence costs and personal injury costs, including Bills of Costs, costs budgeting and challenges to medical expert fees.
Our team understands the importance of considering the applicable costs regime, the complexity of the case and the work reasonably required.
Commercial Litigation Costs
Commercial disputes often involve significant expenditure on disclosure, witness evidence, expert reports and trial preparation.
We assist law firms with costs management, preparing high-value Bills of Costs and resolving disputes over the recoverability of commercial litigation costs.
Our legal costs consultants can become involved at an early stage to help firms monitor expenditure against approved budgets.
Legal Aid Costs
Publicly funded cases are subject to their own billing requirements and remuneration rules.
ARC Costs provides legal aid costs services, including assistance with legal aid billing, high-cost case plans and assessments.
We work with solicitors dealing with complex publicly funded matters and help ensure claims are prepared in accordance with the relevant requirements.
Court of Protection Costs
Court of Protection proceedings can involve particular requirements for costs estimates, billing and assessment.
Our team assists professional deputies and solicitors with the preparation and assessment of Court of Protection costs, including the review of time records and supporting documentation.
Why Choose ARC Costs as Your Legal Costs Consultants?
Choosing the right legal costs consultancy is important, particularly where substantial sums are involved or a procedural deadline is approaching.
ARC Costs combines specialist legal costs knowledge with practical experience of working alongside solicitors and litigation teams.
Experienced Costs Lawyers and Costs Draftsmen
Our team includes legal costs professionals experienced in preparing Bills of Costs, drafting budgets, negotiating settlements and dealing with detailed assessment proceedings.
We understand the procedural requirements involved in costs recovery and the importance of preparing accurate, properly supported claims.
Support Throughout the Costs Process
We provide more than document preparation.
Our legal costs consultants can assist from the initial budgeting stage through to settlement negotiations, detailed assessment and the conclusion of a costs dispute.
This means solicitors can obtain specialist support as their requirements change throughout the proceedings.
Experience in Complex Costs Disputes
We regularly assist with cases involving high-value costs claims, detailed challenges to recoverability and disputes over the reasonableness of legal expenditure.
For example, in one paying-party matter, ARC Costs assisted with a Bill of Costs exceeding £115,000, which was ultimately settled for £57,500 inclusive before the detailed assessment hearing.
This demonstrates how a properly prepared challenge and effective negotiation can make a significant difference to the final amount payable.
A National Legal Costs Consultancy
Although based in the North West, ARC Costs works with solicitors and law firms throughout England and Wales.
We provide remote support, communicate directly with instructing solicitors and can assist with matters progressing through courts across the country.
How to Instruct Our Legal Costs Consultants
Instructing ARC Costs is straightforward.
1. Send us your enquiry
Contact our team with a summary of the matter, the services required and any relevant deadlines.
2. We review your requirements
We consider the nature of the instruction, the documents involved and the work required.
3. Receive a quotation
We provide information about the proposed scope of work and the applicable fees before proceeding.
4. We undertake the work
Our team prepares the relevant documents, provides advice or assists with negotiations and assessment proceedings as instructed.
Where appropriate, we can continue supporting your firm as the matter progresses.
Frequently Asked Questions About Legal Costs Consultants
What does a legal costs consultant do?
A legal costs consultant specialises in preparing, reviewing, recovering and challenging legal costs. Their work may include Bills of Costs, costs budgets, Points of Dispute, negotiations and detailed assessment proceedings.
What is the difference between a Costs Lawyer and a costs draftsman?
A Costs Lawyer is an authorised legal professional regulated by the Costs Lawyer Standards Board. A costs draftsman specialises in legal costs work but does not necessarily hold the regulated Costs Lawyer qualification.
Both can undertake important technical costs work, although the ability to conduct reserved legal activities depends on professional authorisation or an applicable exemption.
When should I instruct a legal costs consultant?
You can instruct a legal costs consultant at any stage of litigation. Early involvement is particularly useful where costs budgeting is required or a case involves substantial expenditure.
Specialist assistance is also valuable when preparing a Bill of Costs, responding to Points of Dispute or dealing with a detailed assessment.
Can legal costs consultants help reduce a Bill of Costs?
Yes. A legal costs consultant can review a Bill of Costs on behalf of the paying party and identify items that may be unreasonable, excessive or otherwise unrecoverable.
They can then assist with Points of Dispute, negotiations and detailed assessment proceedings.
Do legal costs consultants work with law firms throughout the UK?
ARC Costs provides legal costs consultancy services across England and Wales, working with solicitors and litigation teams nationally.
How much do legal costs consultants charge?
The fee depends on the type of work, the complexity of the matter and the documents involved.
For example, preparing a straightforward Bill of Costs may require considerably less work than dealing with a high-value contested detailed assessment.
Contact ARC Costs with details of your instruction to discuss the likely fees.
Speak to Our Legal Costs Consultants
Whether you need assistance preparing a Bill of Costs, challenging legal costs, managing a litigation budget or dealing with detailed assessment proceedings, ARC Costs can help.
Our experienced team works with solicitors and law firms across England and Wales, providing specialist legal costs advice and practical support.
Contact ARC Costs today to discuss your requirements and obtain a quotation.