When is an estimate a budget?

• The difference between an estimate and a budget is not always clear to solicitors.
• It is important to note that an estimate is not a budget.
• Costs budgeting no longer allows a solicitor to kill two birds with one stone.
• Prudent litigators must ensure the two remain distinct.

Lord Justice Birss asked at the Association of Costs Lawyers London Conference in November: why is there a distinction between an estimate and a budget?

While it may appear logical to suggest that the regular estimates given to the client should form the basis of a party’s budget, and therefore, are in essence one and the same, this logic fails to grapple with two key issues, namely:

• When an estimate is actually an estimate; and
• The differences between Precedent H and what the client wants.

What is an estimate?

Providing