How Costs Lawyers Charge: Fees, Recoverability and What to Expect

Practice Guides — 2026-10-03

How Costs Lawyers charge, the difference between regulated Costs Lawyers and costs draftsmen, common fee models, and when drafting and assessment fees may be recovered from an opponent.

Solicitors and litigants asking about costs support tend to ask the same questions: what is the difference between a costs lawyer and a costs draftsman, how are fees structured, and can the fee be recovered from the other side? This guide answers them.

Costs Lawyer or Costs Draftsman?

A Costs Lawyer is a regulated legal professional authorised and regulated by the Costs Lawyer Standards Board. Subject to any conditions on their practising certificate, Costs Lawyers may conduct litigation, represent clients in court and administer oaths where those activities relate to legal costs. They must meet professional indemnity insurance and continuing training requirements.

A costs draftsman is not a title that, by itself, confers regulatory status or authority to carry out reserved legal activities. Many draftsmen are experienced and capable. An unregulated adviser may prepare documents and advise on costs, but cannot conduct litigation or exercise rights of audience merely by using that title. Any authority must come from a separate qualification or a statutory exemption.

For a contested assessment, establish who will conduct the proceedings and who is authorised to appear at the hearing, rather than assuming that every costs adviser can provide the same service.

How Fees Are Structured

Three models cover most of the market:

Hourly rates. A fee calculated by the time spent on the work. The agreed charging rate and the rate recoverable from an opponent are different questions. Guideline hourly rates may help assess recoverability, but they do not set the contractual fee.

Fixed fees per document. Common for defined drafting tasks: a bill of costs, a costs budget, Points of Dispute or Replies. The quote is normally set after sight of the file, because the drafting time is driven by the size of the ledger and the papers rather than the value of the claim.

Percentage fees. A fee calculated by reference to an agreed measure, such as the costs drafted or recovered. Establish exactly what the percentage applies to, whether VAT and disbursements are included, and whether other stages are charged separately. The amount recoverable from an opponent still depends on the applicable costs rules and the work reasonably required.

Whichever model applies, the fee basis should be agreed in writing before work starts, and a regulated Costs Lawyer is obliged to give clear costs information up front.

What Drives the Cost of a Bill of Costs

Quotes for drafting vary with the file, and these are the drivers:

the size of the ledger: the number of time entries to be reviewed and phased;
the period covered and the number of fee earners;
whether an electronic bill is required under Practice Direction 47, including qualifying work undertaken after 6 April 2018 in Part 7 multi-track cases, subject to the stated exceptions;
costs management: a budgeted case needs the bill phased against the budget;
the state of the papers, since missing retainer documents and unexplained entries take time to resolve.

Sending the costs order, the ledger and a note of the approximate documents volume with an enquiry is the fastest way to a firm quote.

Is the Fee Recoverable From the Other Side?

It may be recoverable, but recovery is not guaranteed. In an inter partes detailed assessment, CPR 47.20 ordinarily entitles the receiving party to the costs of the assessment proceedings, subject to contrary rules or an order of the court. The court can consider conduct, the reduction in the bill and the reasonableness of claiming or disputing individual items. Settlement offers can also change who pays the assessment costs.

For proceedings that do not go beyond provisional assessment, CPR 47.15(5) limits the costs awarded to any party to £1,500 plus VAT and court fees. Importantly, the costs of drafting the bill are excluded from that cap. Those drafting costs still have to be justified; the exclusion does not make the agreed drafting fee automatically recoverable in full.

Fixed recoverable costs cases and solicitor-client assessments have different rules. Do not assume that a separately charged Costs Lawyer's fee will be recoverable in addition to fixed costs, or that the usual inter partes assessment rules decide the costs of a Solicitors Act assessment.

The client remains liable for the fee in the first instance, with the recovery reducing what the file ultimately bears. Where the paying party wins reductions, the shortfall falls where the retainer puts it.

Questions Worth Asking Any Costs Firm

Who will actually draft the bill, and what is their grade and experience?
Is the fee fixed, hourly or a percentage, and what does it include: negotiations, Replies, the hearing?
Are they able to conduct the litigation and attend the assessment themselves if it fights?
What do they need from the file to quote accurately?

How We Can Help

Mackenzie Costs is the practice of William Mackenzie, an authorised Costs Lawyer regulated by the Costs Lawyer Standards Board. We draft bills, budgets, Points of Dispute and Replies, advise on offers and attend detailed assessments for firms and litigants across England and Wales. Contact us with the costs order and an outline of the file for a quote.

Sources

Costs Lawyer Standards Board: public FAQs, CPR Part 47 and Practice Direction 47.

Reviewed on 3 October 2026. This guide provides general information, not advice on a particular retainer or costs order.

Related Specialist Support

Costs Lawyer Support: Direct help with costs procedure, strategy, drafting and advocacy.
Costs Budgeting and Detailed Assessment: Precedent H, dispute documents, negotiations and assessment strategy.
Bills of Costs: Clear, defensible traditional and electronic bills prepared for recovery.