Costs Round Up #15

Welcome to a round-up of costs-related news and posts published over the last seven days.

Whoops! 

Yesterday’s headline in the Law Society Gazette suggested Email error sees £1.6m claim struck out in High Court referring to an application for relief from sanctions which was rejected in the High Court after an error was made in typing an email address.  As ever – not quite as simple as that – and for a full summary of Cockell (trading as Cockell Building Services) v Holton head over to Barrister Gordon Exall at civil litigation brief for his informative piece on Amended Pleadings filed late.

Part 36 and freebies

This week, a brief item caught my eye in legal costs expert Professor Dominic Regan’s blog spot:

“The eminent head of training at a major City firm tells me that about half of the supposed Part 36 offers his firm receives are defective! It is negligent for a claimant to make an invalid offer as it will cost the client and the firm as well.”

Believe it or not this is one of the most common mistakes we still observe in bill preparation and subsequent costs negotiations. Earlier this year, the topic and the new CPR rules on Part 36 formed the basis of training John M Hayes delivered at KBW Barristers Chambers Leeds to local Solicitors on Part 36.

Copies of the Part 36 slide presentation for the above seminar are available at Ilkley@johnmhayes.co.uk (no charge) and we are always happy to visit in-house to deliver local bespoke training on request.

Portal Claims

Speaking of training why not test your portal claim knowledge and try Kerry Underwood’s quiz: Portal and Fixed Recoverable Costs: 76 FAQs ?

Housing/LASPO

Vicky Kane legal aid costs specialist highlights changes to availability of legal advice in Wales for clients threatened with homelessness.

Costs Advance Scheme

This week saw John M Hayes make its own headlines at litigation futures introducing a simple solution to accelerate costs recovery for “won” cases.  Find out more here

If you have a blog on costs related matters and would like to submit your post to the round-up, e-mail: Ilkley@johnmhayes.co.uk