After ten years in post, the senior costs judge is to retire at the end of this month. Given that he announced his intention some 18 months ago, one might reasonably anticipate that a successor would have been identified, ready to seamlessly slip in on 1 November. Well, no. Interviews have yet to take place and it will not be until February 2025 that the winning candidate will take office. In the interim, the eminently capable Costs Judge Rowley will hold the fort.
I would like to suggest that whoever does take over should address the dreadful delays encountered in the assessment of Court of Protection bills of costs. The Senior Courts Costs Office is taking something like 15 months to determine what solicitors should be paid. Where the bill seeks in excess of £35,000, the delay is even longer. Apart from the frustration of slow payment for
