Costs recovery for solicitors and law firms.

Winning a case is only half the job. Once a costs order is made, the receiving party still has to recover those costs from the other side, and that is where many firms lose money. Bills are served late, budgets are exceeded without explanation, and negotiations drift while the costs of the claim sit unpaid on the firm’s books.

We act as the costs recovery team for solicitors who want the specialist work done properly. Our qualified Costs Lawyers prepare the bill of costs, run the detailed assessment proceedings, negotiate settlement and, where needed, represent the firm at the hearing.

Recovery starts with the file. We check the retainer, funding arrangement, orders and any costs budget, and identify recovery risks before the bill is drafted. That includes indemnity principle issues, budget departures, unrecoverable items and fixed costs regimes such as fixed recoverable costs.

We then draft the bill in the required format, serve notice of commencement within the CPR 47 timetable, and apply for a payment on account of costs so the firm is not left waiting. Where points of dispute are served, we prepare replies to points of dispute and move the matter towards settlement or a hearing.

Costs recovery is a cash-flow issue as much as a legal one. We push for an early interim payment where the court has not already ordered one, track interest on costs from the date of the order, and use well-timed Part 36 offers to put pressure on the paying party.

If the paying party fails to serve points of dispute in time, we can request a default costs certificate, which can bring the matter to an end quickly.

We handle complex matters routinely: multi-party claims, clinical negligence and personal injury bills with substantial disbursements, commercial litigation, Court of Protection costs and actions against the police. Our case studies include a clinical negligence matter where over 94% of the bill was recovered without a contested hearing.

For paying parties facing a large bill, we provide the mirror-image service: targeted points of dispute and realistic offers to reduce exposure.

We work quietly alongside your team. Fee earners get a clear timetable, a short list of documents we need and a plain-English explanation of any settlement. We work from our London office and our Greater Manchester base, travel to meetings, and take instructions remotely from firms across England and Wales.