For most of my career, I have had a special interest in costs and funding. I have advised upon and argued costs cases in the county court, High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, as well as other tribunals including the Lands Tribunal.
I have a longstanding interest in and particular expertise in the fields of wasted costs against legal representatives, and non-party costs against maintainers of litigation or others such as liability insurers, ATE insurers and trade unions.
I have a deep knowledge of personal injury and clinical negligence costs, and have significant experience of dealing with issues concerning Qualified One Way Cost Shifting (QOCS), having been instructed in five separate cases in the Court of Appeal to argue points of principle.
I am an expert in group litigation costs, be that costs issues concerning test cases, group actions proeceeding under Group Litigation Orders (GLO) and collective or other class actions. I draft retainers, litigation funding agreements, waterfall agreements, appear at case management and costs hearings and undertake the detailed asssessments.
For many years, as part of my common law practice, I have undertaken professional negligence actions against solicitors, the first being in 1998. I am able to provide advice and representation, for all aspects of such claims but with a particular emphasis on costs and funding issues.
These include cases where solicitors fail to provide appropriate costs advice at the inception of a claim, fail to advise on “unusual costs”, fail to advise on options for protection against adverse costs Orders and fail to advise on the timely inception of ATE insurance. I can advise on the necessary evidence in order to progress this type of claim and the likely quantum of damages. This aspect of my work fits naturally alongside other areas of my expertise including the wasted costs jurisdiction and the increasing number of applications made against solicitors under the non-party costs jurisdiction.
A significant part of my practice is in the field of solicitor/own client disputes. I act both for solicitors and their former clients, on solicitor/own client detailed assessments under the Solicitors Act 1974. I also act for solicitors and their former clients, in substantive litigation, where not only the quantum of costs is in dispute, but where allegations of professional negligence and fraud are made. Solicitor/own client assessments typically are heard in the High Court and actions for costs/professional negligence will typically now be issued in one of the specialist courts in the district registries.
In 2019 I appeared in the Court of Appeal in the landmark case of Herbert v HH Law Limited [2019] EWCA Civ 527 concerning section 70 assessments, the basis upon which success fees could be calculated, and whether ATE insurance premiums could be contested in a solicitor-own client assessment.
Sometimes a section 70 assessment or litigation of any kind may not be in a client’s best interests, particularly if the dispute is over a small sum of money, or where the real complaint relates to shortcomings in client care. In such circumstances a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman may be a better option. I can draft letters of complaint for a client to submit in support of their claim for a remedy.
I have a good working knowledge of claims management law and practice including the workings of the former Compensation Act 2006, and the secondary legislation made under it as well as the “new law” now that supervision of the industry has passed to the FCA.
I have advised claims management companies on the legality and enforceability of their retainers. I can advise claims management companies or solicitors on the legality of referral arrangements of claims and in particular how to ensure that the referral fee ban in LASPO 2012 is complied with.
I am familiar with data protection law, and the law of confidence, issues which can arise when personal data is transferred between claims management companies and solicitors. I have advised individuals how they may challenge improperly drafted Damages Based Agreements.
A particular area of interest to me, is advising on funding arrangements for litigation, claims management companies, and alternative business structures. I advise upon the effect of the ban on referral fees and how claims capture services can be properly structured.
I am familiar with third party funding, BTE insurance, ATE insurance. I have considerable expertise in financial services regulation, insurance law and regulatory law. I can advise on how best legal services can be delivered, by an appropriate vehicle which maximises costs recovery within the current regulatory frameworks.
Ever since I first published an article on the “new” Arbitration Act 1996, in the Construction Law Journal [1997] Volume 13 Number 6, nearly twenty years ago, I have maintained an interest in the practice of alternative dispute resolution, particularly arbitration. I have a niche practice advising on recoverable and irrecoverable elements of costs incurred in the pursuit of arbitral proceedings.
I can draft written submissions on behalf of either the winning or the losing side, seeking to maximise or minimise the recovery of costs, either on my own or in conjunction with teams of arbitral counsel or costs lawyers as the case may be.
I can advise on claims for interest, which can go some way to defraying the cost of litigation funding, which can only increase as a source of capital for parties engaged in large scale commercial disputes, with or without an international flavour. I can appear either at the arbitration or if the quantification of costs is transferred to the SCCO for assessment, will be happy to appear in London at any detailed assessment hearing.
In addition I have an interest in the Scottish law of costs and also accept instructions for work in the British Dependent Territories, including the Cayman Islands. I have a particular interest in the growing amount of work in Dubai, arising from litigation conducted in the Dubai International Financial Centre. I am a member of the International Bar Association.
The majority of my work takes place in London, particularly in the SCCO, the Central London County Court, the High Court and costs arguments in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. I am accordingly happy to advise in conference in London, either at solicitors offices or chambers in the Temple. I travel nationally across England and Wales: from Truro to Newcastle or wherever the work takes me.