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Costs post-Belsner

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04 November 2022 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 8001 / Categories: Opinion , Costs
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Dominic Regan provides a cut out & keep guide to billing obligations post-Belsner

Understandably, the conjoined judgments of the Court of Appeal in  Belsner v CAM Legal Services Ltd and Karatysz v SGI Legal LLP handed down last Thursday morning have given practitioners much to think about. I attended all of the February hearing in Belsner and segments of the October rerun. I shall be writing more—much more—on this subject.

There is one immediate point to act upon and that is derived from Karatysz. The case considered ‘What is a bill?’

The court said that properly drawn bills must specify the agreed charges and/or amounts that the solicitors intended to levy, together with full details of disbursements. The bill delivers to the client a comprehensive account of the financials. It is not just a statement of what the client is being asked to pay. Sums received from the defendant are to be included.

The bill should identify the following elements:

  • base costs;
  • the amount of any success fee; and
  • disbursements.

The

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