This time last year, I wrote about our Litigation Department growing, seeing clients, attending conferences, and the consultations regarding Fixed Recoverable Costs. And to be honest, these very same topics were on my radar when I was thinking about the past 12 months.
The department this year has seen some very important arrivals! Caroline and Sam joined us in the Litigation Department, and their experience complements the talented team we already have. But let’s be honest, the more important arrivals were the births of Joel and Savannah, and it has been fantastic to see photos of them, and hear from their very proud parents. I don’t think they have started costing just yet, but you never know!
We have again been out across the country meeting clients, and there really is nothing like seeing people face-to-face. However, we are also more than happy to conduct meetings by video, and this can also be useful for training, especially with large numbers in the legal sector being able to work remotely.
It was a fantastic, and slightly long, journey to Bournemouth earlier in the year to attend the AvMA conference, and I also took part in their fundraising 5k run along the sea front. Those who were there will know that it was incredibly windy! A month later and we then attended the annual SCIL conference in Birmingham, and I was fortunate enough to give a talk to a room full of clinical negligence Solicitors where we ran through some frequently asked questions covering all things costs related. At both events, it was wonderful to chat to lots of experts and share ideas and experiences.
And now we get on to Fixed Recoverable Costs (FRC) – we have seen the somewhat rushed implementation of the Intermediate Track and the associated fixed costs, however we had a stay of execution in respect of clinical negligence FRC proposals, although it looks likely that they will be brought in at some point during 2024.
Focus for 2024 will relate to training, and our clients have already received a questionnaire from us to see how we can continue to help with learning and understanding of legal costs. This will be headed up by Kris, and we’re looking forward to seeing this develop. This supports our belief that the best way to help clients is to deal with the understanding of legal costs and the specific circumstances for each case. This also enables us to continue with our high levels of service and to help tackle whatever may lie on the horizon.
This was written by Costs Lawyer and Head of the Litigation Department, Tom Brocklebank, and he can be contacted here if you have any costs matters that you wish to discuss.