Legal Costs Management – a Legal Practitioner’s Guide
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. You may apply for a copy of this booklet by emailing [email protected] and the table of contents may be seen [...]
Legal Practitioner and Client costs – Time Limits
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 of the bill. The above mentioned thirty-day period may be abridged, where it appears just to do so, by [...]
Remote Hearings before the Legal Costs Adjudicators
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 way of a remote hearing.
Appointment of Third Legal Costs Adjudicator
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, (formally known as Taxing Masters).
Rules of the Superior Courts (Costs), 2019
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 General Instructions Fee, supported by a single detailed narrative or instruction statement. In the interest of transparency, a Bill of [...]
Legal Services Regulation Act, 2015
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 was appointed Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator along with Dr Niall O’Hanlon as Legal Costs Adjudicator. It is understood that a [...]