Once damages have been agreed on a case, the matter of costs follows and can sometimes be higher in value than the damages action which has taken place, depending on the agreement on costs reached and the complexity of the costs issues which arise.

As well as instructing a Costs Draftsman to deal with the matter of costs, it is often beneficial to instruct a Costs Counsel or Costs Lawyer to represent you as an advocate at any costs or detailed assessment hearing. Costs Counsel’s area of expertise will be solely costs arising from different types of costs agreements.

It should be noted however, that whilst Costs Counsel often practice in a number of civil areas, Costs Lawyers are specifically qualified through the Association of Costs Lawyers and only deal with costs disputes (certain barristers also dual qualify with the ACL also). As qualified Costs Lawyers at ARC Costs, we can assist with numerous costs disputes, including:

· Advisory work for parties with outstanding costs, including costs in Solicitor Client disputes, fixed costs cases and costs which are to be assessed on the standard basis.

· Advising on funding agreements and terms and consequences on both Conditional Fee Agreements and Damages Based Agreements.

· Representation during detailed assessments proceedings from the County Court through to the more senior courts such as the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

· Assistance during Costs Case Management and the costs budgeting process by preparing Precedent H (Costs Budgets) and negotiating/agreeing the same, and attending upon any CCMC.

· Assistance with cases where qualified one way costs shifting applies.

Why Instruct a Costs Counsel or Costs Lawyer?

Instructing a general barrister to conduct and assist with your costs case is a viable route. However, the disadvantage of doing so is that your case is likely to be assigned to a barrister who deals with numerous different types of disputes and will likely be a specialist in general civil matters rather than costs alone as a specialist area.

Instructing a costs barristers or a Costs Lawyer means that your advocate is a costs specialist, dealing with costs disputes as their sole area of work. It means that your Costs Counsel/Lawyer will have more exposure to day to day Court hearings and judgments being made on costs. The clear benefit in this is that a Costs Counsel or Costs Lawyer will be more equipped to deal with potential complex issues being raised on costs. Furthermore, a qualified costs representative is more likely to be up to date with the most recent rules on costs, all of which can ensure a high success rate for you.

How Can ARC Costs Assist?

We are specialist regulated Costs Lawyers who specialise in legal costs only, have the right to conduct costs litigation and have rights of audience in Court.

ARC Costs are a team of specialist and experienced Costs Draftsmen and Costs Lawyers assisting many Solicitors’ firms  in the Legal 500, as well as Litigants in Person, in their costs recovery and costs disputes.  Our range of specialism is extensive and covers areas such as personal injury, commercial litigation and clinical negligence work.

Alongside the work listed above, we can assist with other costs work such as preparing a Bill of Costs, negotiating on costs and preparing both Points of Dispute and Replies in order to the best result for you.

Our team holds extensive experience in all different types of costs matters and act regularly for both paying and receiving parties.

If you wish to discuss your costs query with a costs specialist, please contact us on 01204 397302 or email one of the team at info@arccosts.co.uk. Alternatively, you can complete the online query form on our website and a costs specialist will contact you to discuss your query further.

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