Legal Costs Drafting Services

Preparing an accurate Bill of Costs, managing costs budgets and meeting detailed assessment deadlines can take up valuable time within a law firm. It also requires specialist knowledge of the Civil Procedure Rules, recoverable costs and the requirements of the courts.

At ARC Costs, we provide legal costs drafting services for solicitors and law firms throughout England and Wales. Our team of costs lawyers and costs draftsmen assists with preparing Bills of Costs, costs budgets, Points of Dispute and other documents required throughout litigation and the costs recovery process.

Whether you need ongoing support for your firm’s caseload or assistance with a particularly complex matter, we provide a practical, specialist service designed to help you manage legal costs efficiently.

What is Legal Costs Drafting?

Legal costs drafting is the preparation of documents used to calculate, claim, challenge and assess legal costs arising from legal proceedings. It is an important part of law costing, particularly where one party is entitled to recover some or all of its legal fees from another party.

A law costs draftsman examines the work undertaken during a case, the time recorded, the applicable hourly rates and any disbursements before preparing the relevant costs documentation. This may involve preparing a Bill of Costs following the conclusion of proceedings, drafting a costs budget before a case management conference or challenging costs claimed by another party.

Accurate drafting is essential. Errors, omissions or insufficient supporting information can result in costs being challenged, reduced or delayed during the assessment process.

Our specialists assist both receiving parties seeking to recover costs and paying parties who need to review or challenge a claim.

Our Legal Costs Drafting Services

ARC Costs provides drafting assistance at every stage of litigation, from initial budgeting through to the final assessment and recovery of costs.

Bills of Costs Preparation

A Bill of Costs sets out the legal work undertaken during proceedings and the costs being claimed. It may include solicitors’ fees, counsel’s fees, expert fees, court fees and other recoverable expenses.

Preparing a Bill of Costs requires a detailed review of the case file, time records, funding arrangements and any relevant costs orders.

Our Bills of Costs drafting service includes reviewing the available records, identifying potentially recoverable items and preparing the bill in the appropriate format.

Where required, we prepare electronic Bills of Costs in accordance with the applicable rules and Practice Directions.

We also consider relevant costs budgets and court orders to ensure that the bill reflects the procedural history of the case.

Costs Budgets and Precedent H

Costs budgets help the court and parties manage anticipated litigation expenditure. In cases subject to costs management, parties are generally required to prepare and exchange budgets using Precedent H. The budget identifies costs already incurred and estimates future expenditure across the relevant phases of litigation.

Our costs budgeting services include preparing Precedent H budgets and assisting with costs budgeting negotiations. We can also help with budget discussion reports and revisions where the applicable rules permit.

Early involvement from a costs specialist can help ensure that anticipated work is properly considered and that budgets are prepared in time for the relevant court deadlines.

Points of Dispute

When a receiving party serves a Bill of Costs, the paying party may challenge particular items through Points of Dispute. These identify the costs being challenged and the reasons for the objections.

Common issues include excessive hourly rates, unreasonable time spent, duplicated work, unnecessary attendances and disputed disbursements.

Our Points of Dispute drafting service provides detailed challenges based on the Bill of Costs, supporting documents and applicable costs rules.

We aim to identify substantive issues that may justify a reduction, rather than raising generic objections.

Points of Reply

Where Points of Dispute have been served, the receiving party may respond through Points of Reply. These explain or clarify disputed items and address the objections raised by the paying party.

ARC Costs can prepare Points of Reply to support the receiving party’s position and assist with negotiations before detailed assessment.

Legal Costs Drafting for Different Areas of Law

Different types of proceedings involve different costs rules, funding arrangements and assessment requirements. Our drafting services support a range of litigation and specialist legal work.

Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence

Personal injury and clinical negligence claims can involve extensive medical evidence, expert reports, counsel’s fees and complex funding arrangements. Costs recovery may also be affected by fixed recoverable costs, costs budgeting, proportionality and the terms of the relevant costs order.

We assist with preparing and challenging costs in these matters, taking account of the applicable procedural rules and the work undertaken.

Commercial and Civil Litigation

Commercial disputes may involve substantial disclosure, multiple parties, interim applications and significant legal expenditure. We help solicitors prepare Bills of Costs, manage costs budgets and address disputes concerning recoverability and reasonableness.

Court of Protection

Court of Protection proceedings have specialist costs requirements, including circumstances where costs are assessed by the Senior Courts Costs Office. Our services can assist practitioners with the preparation of costs documentation for Court of Protection matters, subject to the relevant assessment rules and the nature of the proceedings.

Legal Aid Costs

Legal aid work can involve different billing requirements from privately funded litigation. Depending on the type of case and funding certificate, costs may require assessment or submission through the relevant Legal Aid Agency processes.

We can discuss the documentation and drafting assistance required for publicly funded matters.

Inter Partes Costs and Detailed Assessment

Inter partes costs are costs claimed by one party from another following a court order or other entitlement. Where the amount cannot be agreed, the court may determine the recoverable sum through detailed assessment.

The detailed assessment of costs involves examining the items claimed and deciding which are recoverable and in what amount.

In most cases, the receiving party must commence detailed assessment proceedings within three months of the relevant judgment, order or other event giving rise to the entitlement to costs.

The paying party generally has 21 days after service of the Notice of Commencement to serve Points of Dispute. These deadlines can have significant consequences if missed.

ARC Costs assists with the drafting and preparation required throughout this process, as well as costs negotiations and Costs Lawyer advocacy where appropriate.

Our aim is to help clients resolve costs disputes efficiently while ensuring that the relevant documents are properly prepared.

What is the Difference Between a Costs Lawyer and a Costs Draftsman?

Both costs lawyers and costs draftsmen work with legal costs, including Bills of Costs, budgets and assessment proceedings. The distinction is their professional status and rights.

A Costs Lawyer is a qualified and authorised legal professional regulated by the Costs Lawyer Standards Board. Costs Lawyers have specific rights of audience and rights to conduct costs litigation within the scope of their authorisation.

The title costs draftsman is not itself a regulated professional title. A costs draftsman may have substantial practical experience in preparing legal costs documents without holding Costs Lawyer authorisation.

When choosing a legal costs provider, it is important to consider the experience of the individual undertaking the work, the nature of the matter and whether authorised representation is required.

ARC Costs offers specialist drafting support alongside access to Costs Lawyer services where appropriate.

Why Outsource Legal Costs Drafting?

Outsourcing legal costs drafting can provide several advantages for law firms.

More time for fee-earning work. Preparing a complex Bill of Costs can be time-consuming. Outsourcing allows solicitors to concentrate on their clients and active cases.

Specialist costs knowledge. Costs professionals work regularly with the rules governing recoverability, assessment and costs budgeting.

Flexible support. A firm may need occasional assistance with a single Bill of Costs or regular drafting support across a substantial caseload.

Consistent preparation. Specialist drafting can help ensure that documents are structured appropriately and supported by the available records.

Support with deadlines. External costs assistance can be particularly valuable when several matters reach the assessment stage at the same time.

For firms handling significant volumes of litigation, outsourcing may also reduce the need to maintain dedicated internal costs drafting resources.

How Much Do Legal Costs Drafting Services Cost?

The cost of legal costs drafting depends on the type of document, the complexity of the matter and the amount of work required.

For example, preparing a straightforward Bill of Costs from organised time records will usually involve different work from reconstructing costs in a lengthy case with incomplete records.

Some drafting services may be suitable for fixed fees, while others require a quotation based on the expected work.

When contacting ARC Costs, it is helpful to provide an overview of the matter, the relevant deadlines and the documentation available.

We can then discuss the work required and the appropriate fee arrangement.

Instruct ARC Costs for Legal Costs Drafting

ARC Costs provides specialist legal costs drafting and assessment services for solicitors and law firms across England and Wales.

Whether you require a Bill of Costs, Precedent H costs budget, Points of Dispute or assistance with detailed assessment proceedings, our team can help.

We work with firms requiring both one-off assistance and ongoing outsourced costs support.

Contact ARC Costs to discuss your legal costs drafting requirements and request a quotation.

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