tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6110794854146484721.post1981841622032184200..comments2024-03-29T08:05:56.264+00:00Comments on Law and Lawyers: Costs: "Bordering on Despair"ObiterJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04544226917595022902noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6110794854146484721.post-22138586979638095132010-05-22T17:05:19.894+01:002010-05-22T17:05:19.894+01:00Costs is a subject which can be relied on to creat...Costs is a subject which can be relied on to create more heat than light. I have a specialism in it as part of my professional practice. For the moment I will say only this: the present determination to force down costs has led, in many routine areas, to files being entrusted to under-qualified paralegals, with the result that too many of the cases which I see develop problems which push up the costs and lead to expensive disputes about costs (which of course generate further costs). Before the CPR it was rare to see counsel appearing on a detailed assessment or to argue a costs point. now my chambers has a Costs Team of seven people (we don't all do just costs, but we all do a significant chunk of costs work). The Woolf reforms have gone badly wrong in this and other ways.Andrew McGeenoreply@blogger.com