Good Afternoon and welcome to a quick round up of legal costs related news.
Precedent Q
This week, the costs management landscape changed again with the introduction of Precedent Q.
An amendment to CPR Part 47.6 came into force on 1st October 2015 and requires Precedent Q (a breakdown of the costs claimed for each phase of the proceedings) to be served with a bill of costs in all cases where a costs management order has been made.
In practical terms, this means that it is more important than ever to involve costs specialists throughout the costs management process because we can ensure that your time is accurately recorded by phase; help ensure that your budget will match your bill of costs; and identify and resolve at an early stage, problems that may affect recovery.
Gordon Exall, Barrister writes a comprehensive analysis on Precedent Q here.
By the way - we’re not “phased” by the changes at John M Hayes and are here to assist you plan out your costs budgeting strategy – call 0370 300 3780 and ask for Lee Coulthard or Christopher McClure if you wish to discuss the new costs management requirements further or read this article entitled ignore your costs budget at your peril by Sharon Smith from our Chesterfield office tackling some of a variety of issues we have met head on through experience.
E-learning Course on Costs Budgeting
As a company, John M Hayes invests heavily in internal training procedures. We are therefore delighted to announce our collaborative effort with specialist legal training company Kinch Robinson to develop a new e-learning course on Costs Budgeting. The short online course is designed specifically to help multi-track litigators properly draft and calculate Precedent H. Find out how to book the course here and e-mail me here if you have any feedback or questions.
Changes to High Costs Case Plans
Legal Aid changes continue with the introduction of changes to funding for high costs case plans. Leanne Davies, one of our High Costs Case specialists writes about the changes here and don’t forget we have been invited to deliver workshops at the LAPG conference next week in Birmingham partnering with Jane Pritchard from legal aid practice TV Edwards.
We look forward to meeting you and sharing some of our Quality Street and pragmatic advice over a coffee on the day. Look out for David Smith (unmissable for his insightful views on legal aid costs and as possibly the tallest costs draftsmen in the UK), Leanne Davies and Heather Shipley from our Birmingham Office.
And finally, local news sees change afoot at John M Hayes with a new office move completed for Ilkley (Leeds) and a new office move for Cardiff this month. Find all our contact details here.
Until next week.