Legal Services Regulation Act 2015

Guidelines on performance of functions of Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator under this Part

142. (1) After consulting with the Minister, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and any person or body that the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator considers to be an appropriate person or body to be consulted for the purposes of this section, the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator may from time to time prepare, for the guidance of Legal Costs Adjudicators, legal practitioners and the public, guidelines not inconsistent with this Act (including any regulations made under this Act) or Rules of Court indicating the manner in which the functions of the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator and the Legal Costs Adjudicators are to be performed.

(2) The Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator shall ensure that guidelines prepared by him or her under this section are published as soon as practicable after the guidelines have been prepared.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), guidelines under this section may—

(a) describe the procedures for the adjudication of legal costs under this Part,

(b) set out the documents and other information that are required by or under this Part to accompany an application for the adjudication of legal costs,

(c) describe the notices and other information that will be provided by the Legal Costs Adjudicator in relation to any such applications,

(d) identify the provisions of this Part and the Rules of Court relevant to an application, including those relating to the time limits within which the documentation and information referred to in paragraph (b) are to be provided,

(e) describe the procedures that are to be followed in the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators in relation to the adjudication of legal costs,

(f) provide guidance as to the circumstances in which a Legal Costs Adjudicator may exercise his or her powers under subsection (4) or (5) of section 156 ,

(g) set out the fees that are to be charged in the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators in respect of the services provided by it, and the manner in which those fees may be paid,

(h) provide such other information as appears to the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator to be appropriate, having regard to the purposes of the guidelines referred to in subsection (1).