Costs

A costs judge has upheld a default costs certificate on a $3.7m bill after the paying party’s solicitors did not show any sense of urgency in dealing with it.

A High Court master has sent out a strong message on the need to seek budget variations promptly after refusing a bid to increase two claimants’ budgets by £1.3m.

It may be time to ditch the guideline hourly rates entirely in favour of a market solution given they are meant to reflect what lawyers are charging, Birmingham Law Society has said.

The review of the guideline hourly rates has been widely criticised for only considering the costs judges have allowed, rather than what lawyers have claimed.

A solicitor telling a client that they will deduct up to 25% of damages to cover costs not recovered in a low-value personal injury case amounts to informed consent, a regional costs judge has ruled.

The Court of Appeal has agreed to consider whether personal injury clients need to give informed consent to paying their solicitor more costs than could have been recovered.

Defendant firm Kennedys is now using artificial intelligence to assess medical evidence and recommend a damages figure for claims in the MoJ claims portal.

The court has the power to require a solicitor to attend court for cross-examination in respect of a wasted costs application, a High Court judge has ruled.

The Forum of Complex Injury Solicitors has urged the working party reviewing the guideline hourly rates to take account of rates claimed as well as those allowed.

The fee to bring an unlimited additional claim should be £10,000, rather than the £55 the court office had advised one of the parties in bitter litigation involving two law firms, a judge has ruled.