'New' guideline hourly rates
The very long awaited decision in relation to guideline hourly rates has finally been made - and they are not changing.
In May, the CJC Costs Committee reported to the Master of the Rolls with recommendations as to hourly rates. The recommendations saw increases for Grade A fee earners (except in London 1) and decreases for all other Grades (except for Grade B fee earners in London 2 and Grade D fee earners in London 1 and 2). The report recommended the introduction of a new Grade E for non-qualified paralegals, with the possibility for paralegals to become Grade D or C based on experience, and would have narrowed the geographic bands to National, Inner London and Outer London. Proposals were considered, and rejected, for a new Grade A* and differential rates for different types of litigation.
The report was considered by the Master of the Rolls. It was noted that the CJC Costs Committee has serious reservations about the shortcomings of the evidence on which their proposals were based, and the recommendations in respect of new guideline rates were rejected.
The status quo has not been maintained in its entirety. The Master of the Rolls accepted that fellows of CILEX with 8 years' post qualification experience should be Grade A fee earners, and that qualified and regulated costs lawyers should be Grade B or C fee earners depending on experience. These changes will be introduced from 1 October 2014.
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