Law costs draftsman
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Costs drafting is a highly specialised branch of the legal profession, and has evolved to help successful litigants, through their solicitors, recover from their opponents a reasonable sum to reimburse them for the money they have spent fighting the case. The role of the costs draftsman centres around a procedure known as the "detailed assessment" of costs, which is controlled by statute in England and Wales. An experienced and competent law costs draftsman may command a salary on a par with that of a solicitor or legal executive
The three main areas in which law costs draftsmen may become involved are:
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[edit] Solicitor and client costs
These are costs payable by a client to his own solicitor. Different rules apply to the costs where court proceedings have been commenced, known as contentious business, to those applicable to non-contentious matters such as conveyancing, probate and general advice. A client who is unhappy with his solicitor’s bill has remedies available if he wishes to challenge it. If the bill relates to non-contentious business, the client may ask the solicitor to obtain a remuneration certificate from the Law Society. If either the client or the solicitor is dissatisfied with the outcome of that request or if the bill relates to contentious business, either the client or the solicitor may apply to the court for the bill to be assessed. A law costs draftsman may be instructed to prepare a detailed bill of costs for lodging at court, to advise on procedure and, subsequently, if instructed by a solicitor, to argue in support or to oppose the bill.
[edit] Publicly funded (legal aid) costs
Where a solicitor is representing a publicly funded client, a detailed bill is usually required to be assessed either by the court or the Legal Services Commission before payment can be made out of the community legal fund to the solicitor. Whilst such bills are usually assessed without any formal hearing, if an amount has been disallowed in respect of which the solicitor wishes to object, an appointment can be obtained and the matter argued at a hearing. In criminal cases, the objections to an amount disallowed are usually made in writing and, often, a costs draftsman will be instructed to prepare the written submissions.
[edit] Inter partes (between parties) costs
The loser of a legal case is usually ordered to pay the winner’s costs and, if those costs cannot be agreed, a detailed bill is prepared and served. The paying party then has to serve a schedule of points of those items in the bill he wishes to dispute before the bill is lodged at court and a detailed assessment hearing takes place at which the points are argued and a decision made by the court. A law costs draftsman can be involved in all the necessary procedural steps for either party and can also be involved in preparing case budgets.
[edit] Legal status
The requirement to attend court to oppose or support a bill of costs may arise in any of the above three categories. At present a costs draftsman may attend, at the discretion of the court, either as an employee (permanent or casual) of a solicitor. The Association of Law Costs Draftsmen (the governing body [1]) has applied under section 27 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 for rights of audience to be granted to Fellows. It is anticipated that such rights would considerably enhance the status and reputation of those who have qualified as Fellows of the Association. Such rights are currently the subject of a draft statutory instrument [2] Under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 of the United Kingdom, a Fellow of the Association may be instructed as an expert by a litigant in person to advise on aspects of costs law and the litigant may recover any fees thereby incurred if he is awarded costs in his favour.
[edit] British Civil Procedure Rules
The rules governing matters surrounding the delivery and form of solicitor’s bills have been modified over the years by case law - judicial decisions interpreting the rules.
[edit] Scope
A law costs draftsman may become concerned with all areas of the law and deal with every conceivable type of legal matter that passes through a solicitor’s hands. He is not, therefore, restricted to one narrow area of law as are some solicitors or legal executives and managing clerks who tend to specialize in one subject. Whilst not concerned with law primarily, the draftsman must acquire knowledge of law and, particularly, procedure to enable him to deal with the files passing through his hands.
[edit] Becoming a law costs draftsman
The usual method of entry to the profession is via a solicitor’s office where a general knowledge of law and legal practice can be first obtained. Many law costs draftsmen are self-employed and often work from home. Unfortunately they rarely employ untrained assistants but it is strongly recommended that student members should work either in-house or at least in association with a Fellow rather than as a sole practitioner.
