Court Fees

Remember the listing fee. This fee must be recouped if the claim settles more than 14 days (previously 7) before trial. However the conducting solicitor must have informed the court of the settlement at the time.

Counsel's Fees

Counsel’s Fees always attract VAT even if the barrister is not VAT registered so should be claimed between the parties. The exceptions to this rule are if the client has paid the fees directly or the client can recover the fee himself as input tax from HM Customs & Excise

Counsel may take a reduction if the fees are disputed. Also remember the obligations in CLS matters.

Foreign lawyers’ costs

Fees incurred by Lawyers’ outside the England and Wales jurisdiction must be claimed as a disbursement not profit costs.

Overheads

The costs of photocopying are not generally recoverable. See CPR CPD 4.16.

Couriers’ fees are recoverable only in exceptional circumstances. Again the above CPD refers. A notional charge may be made if the ‘courier’ is an employee of the firm: see Brush -v- Bower Cotton & Bower [1993] 4 All ER 741. However, in such circumstances the employee's time spent to deliver not recoverable. In this regard see National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty -v- James Davidson & Joanna Willies [No.5 of 1998] the receiving party sought £2367.08 for travel and waiting plus £431.97 for travel expenses. Most of the travel time related to delivery and collection of documents all over the place. On assessment £200 was allowed for the travel expenses and £1400 was given for travel and waiting including £700 notional courier's fees for travel and waiting.

Postage costs again are not usually recoverable - of course except in exceptional circumstances

Telephone charges are not recoverable. However, it has been known for discretion to be given if the charge is unusually high such as an international conference or telephone hearing.

Witnesses

There are essentially 3 different types of witness and the recoverability of their respective expenses differ as follows:

Witnesses as to fact - may be allowed loss of earnings, travel expenses, reasonable overnight expenses

Professional Witnesses - may be allowed reasonable charge for someone of their standing, travel and overnight expenses

Expert Witnesses - the Court can restrict fees. The expert should ideally give breakdown of fee charged but in practice this is not always possible. Matters may be complicated further if the expert is a medical expert has been instructed a medico-legal agency.

Conduct money that may be recovered is normally limited in civil matters.

 Agents' Fees

CPR Costs Practice Direction 4.16(6) states that:

"Agency charges as between a principal solicitor and his agent will be dealt with on the principle that such charges, where appropriate, form part of the principal solicitor's charges."

Agents’ charges should be charged as part of the solicitor’s fees. (Pre-CPR this could be found at Paragraph 1.18 Practice Direction No. 2 of 1992)

It has been incorporated into the Law Society's The Guide to the Professional Conduct of Solicitors 1999  that the solicitor be "personally responsible for paying the proper costs of any professional agent or other person whom he or she instructs on behalf of a client, whether or not the solicitor receives payment from the client, unless the solicitor and the person instructed make an express agreement to the contrary.

Also consider the case of Pomeroy -v- Tanner [1897] 1 CH 284.

In respect of Witness Statement Takers and Medico-Legal Agencies (also see below) consider Smith Graham (solicitors) -v- Lord Chancellors Dept and Stringer -v- Copley, May 2002, HHJ Cook, Kingston-Upon-Thames County Court.

 Medical Agencies

In addition to the above see Claims Direct Test Cases Tranche 2 Issues, 3rd January 2003 wherein the Senior Costs Judge Hurst commented that "the judgment of His Honour Judge Cook in Stringer -v- Copley (Authorities/4) is trite costs law". On the other hand he agrees with the judgment of Stringer: "I agree with Judge Cook that there is no principle which precludes the fees of a medical agency being recoverable between the parties provided it is demonstrated that their charges do not exceed the reasonable and proportionate costs of the work if it had been done by the solicitors".

Travel Expenses

Generally recoverable if reasonably incurred (except local travel expenses, see CPD 4.16(3)). ‘Local’ travel is usually considered to be within a 10 mile radius or 6 miles in central London.

VAT must be added to travel expenses. Travel by train or car is a service to the client and must have VAT added (unless the client has paid)

Insurance Premiums

Indemnity Premiums to cover the risk for a firm for taking on a case are not recoverable see Brush -v- Bower Cotton & Another.

Insurance premiums under a CFA or as ATE (After The Event) Insurance to cover opponent's legal costs are recoverable post 1st April 2000. However the acting solicitor must remember the rules about Notice of Funding.

Callery -v- Gray established the recoverability of ATE premiums even where proceedings have not been issued in the main claim.