Legal Services Regulation Act 2015

SCHEDULE 1

Principles relating to Legal Costs

Sections 150 (4) and 155 .

1. A Legal Costs Adjudicator shall apply the following principles in adjudicating on a bill of costs pursuant to an application pursuant to section 154 :

(a) that the costs have been reasonably incurred, and

(b) that the costs are reasonable in amount.

2. In determining whether the costs are reasonable in amount a Legal Costs Adjudicator shall consider each of the following matters, where applicable:

(a) the complexity and novelty of the issues involved in the legal work;

(b) the skill or specialised knowledge relevant to the matter which the legal practitioner has applied to the matter;

(c) the time and labour that the legal practitioner has reasonably expended on the matter;

(d) the urgency attached to the matter by the client and whether this requires or required the legal practitioner to give priority to that matter over other matters;

(e) the place and circumstances in which the matter was transacted;

(f) the number, importance and complexity of the documents that the legal practitioner was required to draft, prepare or examine;

(g) where money, property or an interest in property is involved, the amount of the money, or the value of the property or the interest in the property concerned;

(h) whether or not there is an agreement to limit the liability of the legal practitioner pursuant to section 48 ;

(i) whether or not the legal practitioner necessarily undertook research or investigative work and, if so, the timescale within which such work was required to be completed;

(j) the use and costs of expert witnesses or other expertise engaged by the legal practitioner and whether such costs were necessary and reasonable.