Practico - the PodCost series Practico - the PodCost series

In this latest episode, we are joined by a new friend to the firm in Martyn Griffiths of Gatehouse Chambers.

Following a brief but inescapable update on the fallout from PACCAR, we take a deeper dive into the growing trend for challenges to solicitors' bills by their clients.

Martyn provides some very practical advice to solicitors to avoid some of the more common pitfalls with unclear retainers and billing practice.

In our last episode before Christmas, Ben Williams KC is our special guest and rattles through the latest topics including the Government's flawed attempts to reverse the SC decision in PACCAR and the the first post PACCAR judgment to rescue a funding agreement (Alex Neil v Sony).

Also covered is a decision of the Court of Appeal to compel parties to engage in ADR (Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil), forthcoming measures to uprate guideline hourly rates for inflation, and the distant prospect of reform to the Solicitors Act

In this episode Alex, Jeremy and Andy cover a broad range of current topics including the introduction of fixed recoverable costs, the latest challenges to funding models presented by the PACCAR decision, the influence of guideline hourly rates on detailed assessments, whether there is any appetite for reform of the Solicitors Act, and the pros and cons of experimenting with ChatGPT for legal research, submissions and even judgments.

Inevitably, given the timing, this episode features a deep dive into the Supreme Court's decision in PACCAR and what it means for litigation funding agreements at whatever stage the litigation has reached.

Simon and Jeremy discuss the decision itself, what led to it, and how the decision is likely to play out, including the risks of attempting to sever the now non-compliant parts of a typical litigation funding agreement.

In this special edition Andy Ellis meets Liz Harris, the doyenne of costs in Australia. We compare notes on costs budgeting, which is due to be introduced in Victoria next year, focussing on the aspects of the English system that have worked well, and not so well.

For our Spring edition of the PodCost series, Jeremy and Andy welcome back Andrew Post KC.

The first half of the discussion covers the Paccar appeal in the Supreme Court in which judgment is awaited. If the appeal is successful the implications for the litigation funding sector would be catastrophic, with seismic effects for collective actions, not only in the CAT but in other group and high value funded cases.

Also discussed are two decisions in the Costs Office - the first applying significant elasticity to guideline hourly rates, and the second potentially opening the door to more challenges to solicitors' costs in probate matters by beneficiaries.

We round up with a reminder about the impending imposition of fixed costs for cases worth up to £100,000 and a general discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of ADR to resolve costs disputes.