She largely deals with costs recovery for the receiving party in high-value personal injury and clinical negligence claims. Victoria also has experience in paying and receiving party costs relating to commercial disputes, contentious property litigation, employment claims, family disputes and housing disrepair.

Her work encompasses all aspects of costs management, including drafting cost budgets, preparation of budget discussion reports and negotiations, monitoring and advising on costs beyond the CCMC, and dealing with budget revisions. Victoria’s work also includes preparation of large and complex N260s, and specifically, she has vast experience of drafting and negotiating substantial bills of costs on settlement to include preparation of points of dispute and reply. She also provides ad-hoc advice on a variety of costs related issues. Victoria began her career in costs in early 2011 and has over 13 years’ experience.

He has established key specialisms in the fields of personal injury and medical negligence, commercial dispute resolution, and marine, trade and aviation. Having played an important part in developing the costs team at the firm, Andrew’s role is not only to build upon the continued success of the internal costs team, but also to provide bespoke cost services for all practices within the firm. He regularly provides costs advice and assistance in respect of international matters to the firm’s offices in Paris, Madrid, Singapore and Piraeus. The costs team has also recently become part of the Pro Bono Expert Support (PBES) Network. PBES is a scheme jointly delivered by the NPBC and Pro Bono Connect to offer litigation support services to pro bono cases, and the team is the only solicitors’ firm listed as specialist costs lawyers. Andrew regularly provides advice on pro bono cases.

Qualifying as a costs lawyer in 2010, and as a legal project practitioner in 2018, Andrew is a ‘Best Practice Costs Champion’, delivering training to all fee earners on costs related issues to promote best practice across the firm. He has been recognised in the Chambers Litigation Support Guide, ranked in band 2. He is a confident advocate, having attended many detailed assessments and cost management hearings throughout the country. Andrew is also involved in the billing process for the firm, and is part of its risk committee, helping ensure the whole practice benefits from this additional internal expertise.

Taking a holistic and comprehensive approach, Ashley is able to assist from matter inception up to settlement. His workload includes the preparation of initial pitch estimates and costs estimates, preparation and negotiation of costs budgets and schedules of costs, proactive budget monitoring throughout a case ensuring effective spend management, assisting with security for costs, and the preparation and negotiation of complex and high value bills of costs. Ashley also undertakes advocacy. He is comfortable advising all levels of client across the firm, no matter their seniority, and provides well-reasoned and detailed advice to assist with costs recovery at various stages and to provide ad-hoc advice when required. In addition, Ashley has a particular interest in budgeting and costs management and leads the firm’s costs budgeting approach to ensure accurate costs budget monitoring and costs management across the firm. He works closely with the finance and IT teams, and external partners, to use and improve the firm’s budgeting tool.

Ashley qualified as a costs lawyer in 2018. He has previously worked for costs consultancies and in-house teams. Ashley recently qualified as a legal project practitioner after undertaking a legal project management course. He is currently exploring how the firm’s costs team can add value to various departments and clients in respect of a legal project management offering. Ashley also provides firmwide training, covering topics including maximising costs recovery and best practice training regarding budget monitoring. He provides support to more junior members of the team, including mentoring and supporting a current team member undertaking studies to qualify as a costs lawyer.

Her costs career commenced in 2010 following a secondment to an in-house costs team. Natalie has gained experience in various aspects of the costs process including the preparation and negotiation of high value bills of costs and costs budgets. She regularly advises on costs issues, the preparation and submission of legal aid bills and the preparation of public inquiry bills on high profile matters.

She maintains regular communication with the firm’s client-facing lawyers to ensure the costs process runs as efficiently as possible. The costs team is recognised in the latest edition of the Chambers Litigation Support Guide where it is described as ‘very comprehensive’.

He is a member of the costs team, having been part of the team’s inauguration and subsequent development into what it is today. Steve has a wide range of experience of costs spanning over 30 years, including in clinical negligence, personal injury, commercial litigation, arbitration, employment and family matters.

His role includes preparing costs budgets and attendance at CCMCs, preparing bills of costs, points of dispute and replies, attending detailed assessment hearings, and advising on all aspects of costs. His involvement can range from being ‘cradle to grave’, including advising on funding and providing costs estimates for clients, to ‘light touch’ advice, as and when required. Steve is a member of the Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL), which is the representative body for costs lawyers and promotes and protects their interests.

She also drafts, varies and negotiates budgets, and carries out advocacy at costs and case management conferences (CCMCs), as well as assisting instructing solicitors with keeping budgeted costs within the amount set by the court. Rebecca provides advice on informal queries on all costs issues, from retainers to Part 36. She also regularly defends claims for costs in housing disrepair and travel claims, including drafting points of dispute and reporting to client insurers.

Rebecca’s career in costs began in 2005, dealing with claims on unsuccessful cases for an ATE insurer. Since then, she has worked at both claimant and defendant firms, giving her excellent experience on both sides of the line and insight into how either party’s lawyers may approach costs. She continues to expand her knowledge in the field, having commenced the Costs Lawyer Professional Qualification course in September 2023.

Where a costs claim cannot be settled through negotiation, Katie has experience in preparing detailed points of dispute and points in reply dealing with points in principle, including retainer/funding issues, and arguments over the time claimed. Her costs experience began in 2013, following three years spent as a personal injury claims handler and after working as a County Court advocate dealing with a variety of case types including approval hearings in personal injury and medical negligence claims.

Katie joined the firm in 2023, having previously worked in-house as a costs draftsperson and costs team manager at a firm dealing predominately with medical negligence, actions against the police and high-profile public inquiries. She also has experience in dealing with defendant costs, particularly in relation to cross-jurisdictional claims, and with group litigation. A key part of her role has been advising on costs issues and tactical points, with a focus on case progression.