header-logo header-logo

Costs conundrum (3)

14 June 2012 / William Gibson
Issue: 7518 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Costs
printer mail-detail

In the third article in a special NLJ costs series, William Gibson tackles client billing

Many legal practitioners, once the satisfying glow of qualification has passed, do not put costs practice or billing high on their list of enthusiasms and why should they? Most firms employ accounts departments and an increasing amount of control is exercised by practice managers or chief executives.

 
What these administrative people do not do is appear on the front line, face- to-face with clients or opponents who are not slow to take advantage of slips, errors or obscure technicalities when money is at stake.

The SRA Code of Conduct 2011 (the code) “does not deal with the form a bill can take, final or interim bills, when they can be delivered and how a firm can sue on a bill”. The reason for exclusion is apparently because “these matters are covered by complex legal provisions” (see guidance note 30 to r 2.03 of the Code).

Those complexities, of course,
If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
back-to-top-scroll