While using estimates to prepare budgets may seem logical, in reality it is attempting to fit a square peg in a round hole: Jack Ridgway explains why
- The difference between an estimate and a budget is not always clear to solicitors.
- It is important to note that an estimate is not a budget.
- Costs budgeting no longer allows a solicitor to kill two birds with one stone.
- Prudent litigators must ensure the two remain distinct.
Lord Justice Birss asked at the Association of Costs Lawyers London Conference in November: why is there a distinction between an estimate and a budget?
While it may appear logical to suggest that the regular estimates given to the client should form the basis of a party’s budget, and therefore, are in essence one and the same, this logic fails to grapple with two key issues, namely:
- When an estimate is actually an estimate; and
- The differences between Precedent H and what the client wants.
What is an estimate?
Providing your client with an estimate is one
