Solicitor and client costs meaning

This Checklist outlines how to secure an order for assessment of costs owed to a solicitor by their client, together with the steps to be taken. CPR 46.10 sets out the assessment process and identifies the court documents that must be filed. Timing in which an application for assessment must be made Section 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974 (SA 1974) provides the route by which either the solicitor or the ‘party chargeable’ (usually the client) may seek assessment of the solicitor’s bill. When proceeding under SA 1974, s 70, timing is crucial because strict deadlines apply. Whether the invoice has been paid is also material. Under SA 1974, s 70(1), if the client asks for assessment within one month of delivery of the bill, the solicitor is barred from starting any action on the bill, and the client is entitled to an assessment as of right without paying any sum into court...

Validity of Wills Appeal allowed: a revocation clause in an India‑focused will cancelled an earlier English will; s9(d) needs no re‑acknowledgement by witnesses. Disclosure The court endorsed a private hearing to seal HRH Prince Philip’s will, dismissing the Guardian’s transparency challenge. Removal and replacement of personal representatives Courts clarified English law governs foreign executors’ standing, prioritised grants amid polygamy, and appointed, replaced or removed PRs where administration was imperilled. Interpretation, construction and rectification Rulings highlight the need for clear residuary clauses, uphold plain wording, apply intended domiciliary law, and adopt pragmatic, swift construction and rectification. Burial disputes Decisions resolved intestacy burial forums, granted special guardians control, safeguarded Article 8 interests, and directed remains’ disposal in exceptional cases. Personal representatives’ duties Authorities addressed mortgage burdens on survivorship, circumscribed trustee remuneration, compelled accounts, and encouraged seeking directions when uncertain. Estate accounts and solicitor fees Courts withheld indemnities for disproportionate or self‑interested litigation, denied fees absent charging clauses or consent,...

In this issue: Key DR developments Claims and remedies Costs and funding Cross-border disputes Injunctions Civil appeals New content Dates for your diary Useful information Daily and weekly news alerts Key DR developments CPR updates 174th Practice Direction update effective 5 November 2024: The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have authorised the 174th Practice Direction (PD) update to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). The changes take effect at 11am on 5 November 2024. This PD update amends CPR PD 51ZE (Small Claims Track Automatic Referral to Mediation Pilot Scheme) and CPR PD 51R (Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) Pilot Scheme), expanding the obligation to engage in integrated mediation in civil matters to money claims submitted via the OCMC service. For more information, see: LNB News 22/10/2024 127—174th Practice Direction update—in force 5 November 2024. Court guidance Damages Claims Pilot under CPR PD 51ZB—updated guidance:...

In this issue Key DR developments Claims and remedies Costs and funding Litigation Applications—general Evidence and disclosure Appeals New content Dates for your diary Useful information Daily and weekly news alerts Key DR developments CPR Committee minutes Minutes of the CPR Committee meeting—6 June 2025: The Civil Procedure Rule Committee met on 6 June 2025 in a hybrid session at The Rolls Building (Royal Courts of Justice) and via video conference. The minutes confirm a forthcoming CPR 51 pilot enabling non-parties to obtain court documents, arising from the Supreme Court ruling in Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd v Dring [2019] UKSC 38. They also record approved amendments to the e‑working pilot, progressing towards a permanent electronic filing system as part of ongoing court modernisation. Further topics included summary assessment of costs, arbitration updates, disclosure, civil restraint orders, closed material procedures, judicial review reforms for infrastructure projects, whiplash reforms, digital services and other procedural...

Signature Litigation LLP v Ivanishvili [2024] EWCA Civ 901 What are the practical implications of this case? The Court of Appeal used this case to restate a well-known worry: as Lord Justice Coulson observed at [22], the 1974 Act has been widely criticised for not being updated to reflect modern practice. When the SA 1974 came into force, conditional fee agreements (CFAs) were unlawful, and retainers were largely based on an ‘entire contract’ model, allowing costs to be fully quantified for any period while litigation was ongoing. That is not the position with conditional fee retainers, where the total costs payable (covering all additional liabilities) cannot be fixed until the litigation has concluded. Accordingly, solicitors should note that under any CFA—even a ‘discounted CFA’—interim invoices will not be final statute bills if an additional fee is intended to be added to that invoice once the case ends. In practical terms, this means an interim bill, even if presented and paid, may not be final for a considerable time,...

This Practice Note sets out the particular rules governing VAT on costs that fall to be the subject of either summary or detailed assessment before the High Court. The applicable provisions are contained in CPR PD 44. Entitlement to This is addressed at CPR PD 44, para 2.3 through to CPR PD 44, para 2.6. The party seeking recovery of costs bears responsibility for ensuring that VAT is claimed only if, and only to the extent that, it cannot recover from HMRC the VAT it has incurred (CPR PD 44, para 2.4). if the VAT is recoverable from HMRC, it should not be included in a claim for costs if only a proportion of the VAT is recoverable from HMRC, include only that proportion which is not recoverable from HMRC in the claim for costs The legal adviser’s VAT registration number must appear in a prominent position at the head of every statement, bill of costs, fee sheet, account or voucher...

Practice Note This Practice Note consists of two strands created to help dispute resolution practitioners remain up to date with developments in case law that affect their field, or which influence civil litigation procedure more generally: selected forthcoming appeals to the Supreme Court are highlighted below; see Key forthcoming appeals to the Supreme Court—2022 summaries of significant appeal decisions in England and Wales (ie rulings of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court and, where appropriate, certain judgments of the Competition Appeal Tribunal, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Court of Justice of the European Union), and ECtHR, which we have covered; see: Key forthcoming appeal cases—2022 You can navigate this content using the table of contents in the left-hand margin. Alternatively, search this tracker using [CTRL]+[F]. This material is not intended to be a comprehensive register of every appeal or major decision relevant to dispute resolution practitioners. Key forthcoming appeals to the Supreme Court—2022 Tort and negligence ...

ARCHIVED: This tracker is archived and no longer updated. For an overview of Court of Protection cases from 2025 onwards, see: Court of Protection—table of cases. P, Re (Property & Affairs Deputyship: Jurisdiction) [2024] EWCOP 77 (T2) Court of Protection determines it has jurisdiction to consider whether P’s mother should continue as property and affairs deputy The proceedings related to P, an adult who sustained a brain injury in an accident and had a substantial personal injury claim. His mother had been appointed by the Court of Protection as his property and affairs deputy, and the present decision addressed an application seeking to revoke that appointment. The litigation had been protracted. Earlier, the court permitted ‘closed material’ to be withheld from P’s parents to facilitate capacity assessments; for a summary of that ruling, see here. Despite that step, neither the Official Solicitor nor the court gained clarity about P’s condition or even his location. It was reported that P was now residing in Italy. HHJ Burrows concluded that...

This document offers general guidance on divorce procedure. Your family solicitor can provide advice tailored to your circumstances. Specific advice will depend on your circumstances, and your family solicitor can provide this. No fault divorce The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA 2020) substantially reshaped divorce law, aiming to lower acrimony by bringing in the commonly called ‘no fault divorce’. The legislation removes the need to attribute fault when initiating proceedings, rather than apportion blame at the outset. It entirely dispenses with attributing blame at the commencement of divorce proceedings. Historically, to obtain a divorce in England and Wales, the applicant had to demonstrate that the marriage had irretrievably broken down, which required proving one of five facts. Three rested on fault—adultery, unreasonable behaviour, and desertion—while two depended on a qualifying period of separation: two years with consent, or five years without consent...

UPON THE APPLICATION OF THE [ PARTY ] [ the parties and their representatives who attended ] AND UPON HEARING AND UPON READING the papers on the court file IT IS ORDERED THAT 1 The [ PARTY ] shall, within [ NUMBER OF DAYS ], provide to the [ PARTY ], or to his solicitor, a bill of costs covering all causes and all matters in which he has acted for the [ PARTY ] 2 The [ PARTY ] must allow credit in that bill for every sum received by him from, or on behalf of, the [ PARTY ]...

[ ON YOUR LETTERHEAD ] WITHOUT PREJUDICE SAVE AS TO COSTS [ SUBJECT TO CONTRACT ] [ Insert date ] [ Insert name and address of other party’s solicitor ] Dear [ insert contact name ] [ Insert subject of letter ] We refer to our open letter of [ today’s date OR [ insert date ] ]. As explained in that correspondence, both we and our client remain assured that, were your client to commence proceedings in relation to the alleged claim described in your letter of claim dated [ insert date ] (the ‘Letter of Claim’), our client would be entirely successful in resisting and defeating any such claim...