Digital informality meets hard-edged costs law. In this week's NLJ, David Bailey-Vella, chair of the Association of Costs Lawyers and legal director at Pogust Goodhead, examines MacInnes v DWF Law LLP, in which the Senior Courts Costs Office held that if a firm bills for WhatsApp work, those messages form part of the ‘file’—even if stored on personal devices
In this case, a mismatch between billed communications and disclosure led to debarment.
The test is functional: does the material ‘connect to work for which the client was charged?’ Firms must capture and retain chargeable messaging or risk exclusion from the very assessment where costs are defended.
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