The Justice Act of 2012 has recently been passed in the United Kingdom and will take effect on April 2013. It incorporates the Jackson Report of 2010 which is about rationalizing costs in civil suits. The Jackson Report suggested various changes which concern costs draftsmen.
Based on my readings, the following are some of the changes introduced in the Justice Act of 2012 which costs draftsmen must know.
Notwithstanding the existence of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), success fees cannot be collected from the losing party. Hence, even if I won a civil case, I am obliged to pay my solicitor’s legal fees. This is in contrast to the law before this amendment wherein the losing party is liable for the solicitor’s fees. Contingency fees replaced the CFA.
The After-the-Event (ATE) Insurance was also scrapped. This kind of insurance covers the liability of the losing claimant with respect to the cost of suit. The abolition of success fees collection and the ATE insurance are deterrents to bringing baseless claims for litigation.
Fees that can be collected as general damages are up by ten percent. These are paid for non-quantifiable injuries such as suffering, pain and the likes.
The award to a winning personal injury claimant cannot be given in its entirety. The solicitor’s fees will be deducted from it. This is unlike the previous law, wherein, the cost of suit, including barrister’s fees, is paid by the losing litigant. On the other side, a losing personal injury claimant is not obliged to pay the fees of the defendant’s solicitor.
There are other changes to Costs Law brought about by the Justice Act of 2012. So, cost draftsmen, read up on these so that the bills that you will prepare will not be a source of great conflict between the client and the solicitor. Another reason why you should brush up on the new schedule of legal fees is for the losing party to pay up the soonest time possible and not argue on many points in the cost of bill.
At this moment, the law is being challenged by many quarters. But until it is amended or repealed it remains to be enforced. And costs draftsmen should master it for a clean bill of costs.
Law Costs Draftsmen 