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At BarnsChapel, we recognise that detailed documentation and effective recovery of legal costs are fundamental aspects of successful litigation.
Bills of Costs are comprehensive documents itemising all of a party’s costs incurred during a claim, including solicitor fees, court fees, disbursements, and costs for expert witnesses. These critical documents facilitate transparency and form the basis for cost recovery between parties.
Electronic bills are now mandatory in the Senior Courts Costs Office and County Courts for all Part 7 multi-track claims. This digital format requires specialised expertise to navigate effectively while ensuring maximum recovery and maintaining full compliance with Practice Direction 47.
Our costs lawyers have extensive expertise in preparing accurate and comprehensive Bills of Costs in both electronic and traditional formats, collaborating closely with solicitors to ensure all costs are properly documented and robustly justified.
Combining technical excellence with practical business understanding, our approach focuses on maximising your recoverable costs while minimising the administrative burden on your team.
We work closely with you to ensure that all costs are properly documented and justified, providing a solid foundation for cost recovery and financial planning.
By entrusting us with your Bills of Costs, you can free up your time to concentrate on higher value work, enhancing your productivity and client service.
Our Bills of Costs give a clear breakdown of all case costs, including solicitor, counsel, and court fees, disbursements, additional liabilities, and VAT. Narratives offer a chronological summary and justify unexpected costs. This transparency supports proportionality arguments and maximises costs recovery.
Our team possesses advanced proficiency in the mandatory electronic bill format (Precedent S) required by the courts in all Part 7 multi-track claims. We efficiently manage the technical complexities while ensuring costs are presented strategically for maximum recovery
We guarantee that all Bills of Costs comply with the latest court requirements and Civil Procedure Rules, ensuring they are served within mandated timelines. This strict compliance helps you avoid penalties and avoids unnecessary arguments as to recoverability of individual items.
We structure your Bill of Costs to highlight recoverable items and present them in the most favourable light, maximising your potential recovery while maintaining compliance with regulations.
We prepare both Bills of Costs in matters contested between parties in litigation, and Breakdowns of Costs contested between solicitors and their clients, dealing with costs claimed appropriately in all scenarios.
A Bill of Costs is a detailed document that outlines all the costs incurred by a party during the course of litigation. It serves as the primary tool for detailed assessment, allowing the successful party to recover its reasonable and proportionate costs from the opposing side. Bills of Costs should be submitted within 3 months of a costs order being made or judgment being entered in order to avoid interest and/or other penalties being applied.
An electronic Bill of Costs is a digital version of the traditional bill, now mandatory for Part 7 multi-track claims. It utilises specific formatting (Precedent S) and can be manipulated electronically for easier analysis and assessment.
A Bill of Costs must include detailed fee earner information (including grade and hourly rates), court fees, solicitor fees, costs for expert witnesses, disbursements, VAT (where applicable) and any other costs incurred during litigation. Each item should be clearly described, dated, and properly recoverable according to the current Civil Procedure Rules.
A Bill of Costs ensures transparency between the parties and provides the evidentiary basis for the winning party to recover its costs from the losing party. It also serves as a valuable record for client billing and helps demonstrate, at the end of the main claim, earlier compliance with costs budgeting obligations.
If a Bill of Costs is not served within the prescribed time limit (typically 3 months from the costs order), the court may disallow interest from expiry of the 3-month period or, if the paying party has lodged an application to force service and the paying party has not complied with any resulting Order, disallow the costs claimed either in part or in their entirety. This can result in substantial financial losses for your firm and clients.
Yes, a Bill of Costs can be amended after service if errors are discovered, or additional costs need to be included. However, amendments must be made promptly and in accordance with court rules to avoid potential challenge.
While solicitors may prepare Bills of Costs themselves, specialist costs lawyers or costs draftsmen often handle this task due to their expertise in maximising recovery and ensuring compliance with procedural rules. The ultimate responsibility lies with the solicitor on record.
Maximising recovery requires meticulous preparation, a clear narrative justifying time spent, and ensuring all entries demonstrate proportionality to the value and complexity of the case. Strategic presentation of information and compliance with all formatting requirements also significantly impacts costs recovery.
In UK Costs Law, a Bill of Costs can include costs for “time spent in contemplation”? This means that legal representatives can claim costs for the time they spend thinking about the case, strategising, and planning their next steps, even if no actual work is done during that time .
Have a question about Costs Law that we haven’t answered, or want to have a chat about what we do and how we do it?
Use the contact details below to get in touch, or fill in our contact form and we will get right back to you.
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