Law Costs Draftsman: Our Services
Our team of expert costs draftsmen can help your law firm with all aspects of the law relating to legal costs.
What We Do
Our team of experts have in excess of 20 years experience. Find out below how we can help you. We have experience in dealing with Bills of Costs, Costs Negotiations, CPR 45 Fixed Recoverable Costs Claims for all inter partes claims, including Personal Injury, Industrial Disease, Medical Negligence as well as publicly funded legal aid costs claims.
We also offer Remote Costing and Legal Costs Training.
Remote Law Costing
ARC Law Costs Draftsman are a modern law costing practice, with in-house IT and technology services. Whilst we are adept at the traditional method of paper costing, as a paperless office, our experienced team of law costs draftsmen cost your files via remote access on any case management platform (we are particularly adept at utilising and importing data from Proclaim and LEAP).
Costs Budget (Precedent H) Preparation and Discussion (Precedent R)
The costs budgeting process requires a carefully planned approach, to ensure future anticipated costs are neither under nor over-estimated. The failure to anticipate your future costs correctly can result in any Costs Budget (Precedent H) hampering your legal costs recovery on preparation of a Bill of Costs.
Bills of Cost and Costs Negotiation Services
On receipt of papers and/or electronic instructions, we provide a 5 working day turnaround (7 day overall) on all drafting instructions, whether it be a Precedent H Costs Budget or detailed Bill of Costs. Each client has a central advisor who will be allocated their account, so that you are always dealing with the same Costs Draftsman who will be familiar with your caseload.
CPR 45 Fixed Recoverable Costs Claims
On receipt of papers and/or electronic instructions, we provide a 5 working day turnaround (7 day overall) on all drafting instructions, whether it be a Precedent H Costs Budget or detailed Bill of Costs. Each client has a central advisor who will be allocated their account, so that you are always dealing with the same Costs Draftsman who will be familiar with your caseload.
CCMC & Detailed Assessment Advocacy
As well as our office based law costing solutions, our experienced Law Costs Draftsmen provide advocacy services at both Costs and Case Management (CCMC) hearings, and detailed assessment representation, whether this be at a hearing or at a Joint Settlement/Round Table Meeting, or mediation.
Our Strong Points
We focus on the recovery of costs payable by a paying party in any legal matter through the preparation of Costs Budgets (Precedent H), Statements of Costs (N260) and Bills of Costs. Our Law Costs Draftsmen also provide costs negotiation and advocacy services for detailed assessment in all legal matters.
- Costs Drafting
- N260
- Costs Negotiations
- CPR 45 Fixed Costs
Answers to Your Questions
When is a Cost Budget (Precedent H) Required?
In Multi-Track cases, a Costs Budget must be filed with the Directions Questionnaire if the claim value is under £50,000, or 21 days before the first Costs and Case Management Conference (CCMC), if the claim is pleaded over £50,000. We recommend to many of our clients that it is best to file a Precedent H with the Directions Questionnaire to avoid the risks of being awarded Court fees only, and having to apply for relief from sanctions.
On exchange of Costs Budgets (Precedent H), parties must exchange Budget Discussion Reports (also known as Precedent Rs), and seek to agree the amounts in dispute, failing which the outstanding issues will be resolved at the CCMC.
It is important that the Precedent H is accurate, and that a sensible approach is taken as to the estimating of future costs and disbursements. A Statement of Truth must be signed by to state the contents of a Costs Budget are accurate, and if the contents of a Costs Budget are under/over-pitched, this can have dire consequences at any CCMC and on conclusion of a claim, leading potentially to sanctions and/or a loss of a significant amount of costs.
It is at this juncture that an initial view of proportionality will also be formed by the Court, and this will be critical as to how any Bill of Costs is later considered at assessment.
Why should we choose you?
We’re glad you asked. We’re a bespoke costs team of legal and technology experts not found elsewhere, our management team for which possess in excess of 12 years’ costs and litigation experience. Our management team monitor and keep track of what’s going on in order to drive the best possible results.
What Information is Needed to Prepare a Bill of Costs?
We require access to your file, either digitally or in paper form, as well as any time records. Any Bill details the work done in conducting the case, item-by-item, and details the work done for every item incurred.
This is so that any paying party can scrutinise the work done, and so it is imperative that you instruct an experienced Law Costs Draftsman to prepare a Bill. This ensures that a reasonable Bill of Costs is drawn, including only recoverable items, and maximising the recovery on your Bill on any assessment.
What’s your SLA?
Being a digital based firm means we’re able to reduce the typical SLA time. We work to a maximum of one week turnaround.
Request Your Free Quotation
Contact us today for your free, no obligation quotation. Our team are on hand to help.