header-logo header-logo

10 February 2023 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 8012 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Costs , CPR
printer mail-detail

Regan’s costs crammer (Pt 3)

110017
Could rule changes be on the horizon? Dominic Regan looks ahead to 2023, & considers guideline hourly rates & caps on deductions
  • Update on guideline hourly rates: are they still relevant with so many fee-earners now working at least partly from home?
  • Costs post-Belsner: is reform of the Solicitors Act 1974 on the way?

The Master of the Rolls approved an increase in guideline hourly rates which took effect in October 2021. Master Rowley, at para [44] of R v Barts Health NHS Trust [2022] EWHC B3 (Costs), said: ‘Where the work is as recent as 2019, it seems to me there is no argument that the correct starting point is the 2021 guideline figures.’ He then proceeded to allow even more for all grades of fee earner on account of importance, urgency and complexity. The Master of the Rolls has indicated a further review in just two years’ time. Master Brown in TRX v Southampton Football Club Ltd | [2022] EWHC B7 (Costs) applied

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

Walkers—Muriel Marseille

Walkers—Muriel Marseille

Ashurst's Chief Risk Officer joins Walkers

Excello Law—John Osborne

Excello Law—John Osborne

Northern family lawyer John Osborne joins Excello

mfg Solicitors—Rebecca Rogers, Kennedy Langley & Victoria Griffiths

mfg Solicitors—Rebecca Rogers, Kennedy Langley & Victoria Griffiths

Trio of promotions announced at Kidderminster law firm mfg Solicitors

NEWS
A sole director can conspire with their own company for the purposes of the tort of unlawful means conspiracy, the High Court has ruled in a judgment with potentially wide implications for business disputes
The Court of Appeal has reinforced that domicile depends on intention rather than residence alone, in a significant post-Brexit ruling on cross-border financial remedy claims
The Chancery Division's long history comes to an end this autumn as it is reborn as the Business and Property Division, prompting questions over whether the shake-up is really necessary
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continues to show that failing to disclose regulatory issues can attract harsher consequences than the original misconduct itself
Rejecting a generous settlement can prove an expensive mistake, as two recent high-profile cases demonstrate
back-to-top-scroll