Would you ask a bricklayer to install a boiler, asks Jack Ridgway? If not, you should probably get a regulated costs lawyer to manage your costs
- The perils of using an unregulated costs draftsman were laid bare in Kapoor (deceased) v Johal [2024] EWHC 2853 (SCCO).
The importance of specialism can be found in a simple rhetorical question: would you instruct a bricklayer to install a new boiler?
Specialism and regulation are not marketing gimmicks but a cornerstone of public trust in the legal profession. So why do some solicitors continue to instruct unregulated costs draftsman, instead of qualified and regulated costs lawyers?
Not a trifling thing
There is no evidence that unregulated draftsmen are cheaper or provide a higher quality of work. Indeed, they are limited to acting as agents for the solicitor and cannot go on the record for the receiving party. A bill of costs is not a trifling thing, and errors are not of no consequence. A finding that a bill of
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