‘A customer should never be surprised by the bill he or she receives from a lawyer.’ The more I reflected upon those 16 words found on p5 of the guide to charging published by the Legal Ombudsman, the more I thought that it captured the essence of costs law. True, it comes in at 3,000 pages less than the imminent new 4th edition of the magisterial Friston on Costs. However, so many recent cases concern surprises (shocks) when a bill is levied. I suggest that every fee-earner in the profession should learn that mantra and adhere to it.
Our distinguished readership includes Simon Williams, legal ombudsman, who got in touch after my column reflecting on the Belsner saga (‘The insider’, 172 NLJ 8004, p8). He told me that there has always been a steady stream of complaints about costs and deductions. There has been no surge post-Belsner.
