News

16th March 2022 This booklet which has been in circulation since 2008 has been once again updated to take into account the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 and the Rules of the Superior Courts (Costs) 2019.  Both the 2015 Act and the 2019 Rules were enacted respectively in October and December 2019.  There have been sweeping changes across this area of the law and the booklet deals with the more significant aspects thereof when it comes to legal costs.   [...]

15th March 2022: Pursuant to section 154 (5) of the Legal Services Act 2015, where a detailed bill of costs (drawn pursuant to section 152 of the 2015 Act) has been served upon a client by a legal practitioner and that bill remains unpaid on the expiry of thirty days, the legal practitioner may apply to the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator for that bill to be adjudicated. Such application must be made within twelve months from the date of service [...]

7th January 2022: The Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators has issued a practice direction, due to the significant increase of the Covid 19 Omicron Variant. The default position is to hear all adjudications where possible by way of a remote hearing.  Any cases which are unsuitable for a remote hearing will be heard by way of a physical hearing.  Such cases considered unsuitable, may involve witnesses at the hearing or such matters that could not be conducted fairly by [...]

12th November 2020: In October 2020, the Minister for Justice and Equality appointed Mr. Barry Magee to the position of Legal Costs Adjudicator.  Mr. Magee’s appointment comes a year after the appointment of Mr. Paul Behan as the State’s first Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator and Dr. Niall O’Hanlon as Legal Costs Adjudicator, following the commencement of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015.  This is the first time, certainly in living memory, that the State has appointed three Legal Costs Adjudicators, [...]

SI No. 584/2019 The Minister for Justice and Equality, Mr Charles Flanagan commenced the above Statutory Instrument on 3rdDecember 2019.  Not only has this SI overhauled the Rules of the Superior Courts and in particular Order 99, it has also made sweeping changes to Appendix W in terms of the Bill of Costs format and scheduled items. Formerly, the Bill of Costs was drawn pursuant to Order 99 and Appendix W in a seven-column format, which included a Solicitor’s [...]

Legal Services Regulation Act, 2015 Since the retirement of Master Declan O’Neill in June 2019, Master Paul Behan was the sole Taxing Master operating within the State.  However, on 7thOctober 2019 the Minister for Justice and Equality, Mr Charles Flanagan formally commenced Part 10 of the Legal Services Regulation Act, 2015.  The commencement of this Act established the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators which takes over all functions of the Taxing Masters Office.  In addition, Mr Paul Behan [...]

Under Section 2 of the Attorneys and Solicitors (Ireland) Act 1849, a Solicitor may lawfully issue proceedings against his or her former client for recovery of costs on the expiration of one calendar month. However, the client has a twelve month period in which he or she can seek and obtain Taxation of these costs. In the case of Doyle –v- Buckley, Mr Justice Charleton on 25th March 2013 held that “in order for a Bill to be valid, [...]

The case of Isabelle Sheehan (an infant) –v- David Corr [2017] IESC 44 was a Personal Injuries Action which commenced in November 2009 and was compromised in October 2011 for €11.5 million plus costs to be taxed in default of agreement. The Plaintiff’s costs were taxed before The Taxing Master on 12thSeptember 2012. The Taxing Master’s Ruling issued on 7th September 2012. The Plaintiff brought formal written Objections to that Ruling on 27th November 2012 on the basis that [...]

Paul Behan Appointed Taxing Master of High Court In April 2017 Mr Paul Behan has been appointed Taxing Master of the High Court. Master Behan, formerly a Legal Costs Accountant has taken up his new appointment and succeeds Master Rowena Mulcahy whose term of office ended in January 2017.

Payment on Account of Costs Pending Taxation “In view of long delays in the taxation of costs, the attention of practitioners is drawn to the provisions of Order 99, rule 1B (5). I direct that in all cases where there is no dispute as to the liability for the payment of costs and in any other case which a judge thinks appropriate, an order may be made directing payment of a reasonable sum on account of costs within such [...]