John O’Hare's 10-point guide to drafting a costs budget for the first CMC
IN BRIEF
This guide assumes you have already decided upon the directions you will be seeking at the case management conference and have to hand the standard form of budget (Precedent H) and the Ministry of Justice Guidance Notes on Precedent H (both obtainable via www.justice.gov.uk).
1. Decide how much detail it will be necessary to give
If the grand total does not exceed £25,000 there is no obligation to complete more than the first page, ie list of phases, totals for each, assumptions made etc.
2. Start at the end: the trial
How many days will it last? Who will be instructed to appear for the client as advocates at that stage, what fees will they charge, how many fee earners will also attend (more than one is unusual) and of what grade? If you are using a spreadsheet form of the budget, any arithmetic you insert into each section will automatically update the totals on
