Court appearances

I accept instructions in the field of costs on the basis only of a privately-paid retainer. I do not undertake work in this field on a conditional fee basis.

If we haven’t spoken before, then I would suggest telephoning me for a chat about your case and how I might be able to help. I am fortunate enough to be quite busy and my diary fills up quickly.  If you would like to instruct me to represent you in court, I would suggest booking me 2 to 3 months in advance of the hearing, as otherwise I will probably already be engaged doing something else.

My diary changes on a daily basis as cases come into and go out of the diary, so you can always ask my clerk to take your case as a second booking and assuming the case first in the diary settles, I will be able to take your case instead.

I have significant experience in costs budgeting, having attended numerous costs and case management hearings over the years since 1st April 2013. I can advise on costs budgets, both in respect of formulating a party’s budget, advising on recoverable costs and also in attacking a costs budget, including devising strategies for limiting costs.

I am able to undertake both the case management and costs budgeting aspects of hearings. I can either attend alone, or in company with trial counsel in the more substantive hearings including large scale commercial disputes and group litigation.

I am frequently instructed in detailed assessment hearings, appeals from decisions on detailed assessments and to argue points relevant to costs in substantive litigation. I have argued cases about costs in the county court, High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, as well as other specialist tribunals.