Legal Services Regulation Act 2015
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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. |