Costs & Litigation Funding

What our barristers offer

The costs and litigation funding team at 39 Essex Chambers is recognised for its multi-disciplinary expertise in advising clients on costs and litigation funding.

Who our costs and litigation funding team act for

We advise practitioners, insurers, funders and litigants.

Our experience

Our barristers appear in every court and tribunal where costs issues arise. We have considerable experience in appellate work, with many appearances in Court of Appeal and High Court appeals.

We conduct all manner of detailed assessments, involving arguments arising from high-value commercial litigation and technical challenges to costs recovery, as well as on more everyday disputes.

The use of CFAs and CCFAs is extending beyond claimant personal injury work, and both commercial clients and their solicitors have become alive to the benefits these agreements can bring to other areas. Members of the costs team have been involved in drafting and advising on such agreements since the current regime came into force in 2000, and we continue to do so.

The amendment of the CPR in April 2009 to make express provision for costs caps are bound to lead to an increase in disputes as to when a cap is appropriate and its level. With the additional prospect that a cap set in the course of a claim may in practice be a substitute for a detailed assessment, parties will want to ensure that their best case is put forward. Members of the costs team are often brought in to supplement trial counsel on capping applications.

Group litigation gives rise to difficult issues about what, if any, costs structures should be put in place during the lifetime of the claims.As the litigation evolves, lead issues and lead claims are identified, and others invariably fall by the wayside. Guidance on the most advantageous costs structures is essential, as this can affect dramatically both the parties’ exposure to costs liability and their ability to recover costs. Parties also need to ensure that their own funding and insurance arrangements meet the particular demands of group litigation. We have extensive experience in this complex area, and in the intricacies of detailed assessment where group litigation orders have been made.

Criminal proceedings have their own highly complex statutory costs regime, which has been subject to much legislative change in recent times, causing controversy in high-profile cases. Greg Treverton-Jones QC has been regularly instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service to advise and represent the CPS in costs matters. He appeared in the important Divisional Court case of R (DPP) v Sheffield Crown Court, Goodison and the Ministry of Justice [2014] EWHC 2014 and represented the CPS on costs issues flowing from the “M5 firework” prosecution which arose out of a multi-fatality crash on the M5 at the time of a firework display on a nearby rugby ground.

The costs team of course also has considerable experience in dealing with any points that can arise in detailed assessment proceedings, including disputes as to disclosure and arguments about proportionality, hourly rates, apportionment and related issues.

Related practice areas

A particular feature of 39 Essex Chambers’ costs and litigation funding team is that many are also well known for their work elsewhere, in areas of law ranging from commercial and insurance litigation to judicial review, solicitors’ regulation, personal injury and clinical negligence, to construction and arbitration.

We have a formidable reputation at every level of seniority with high rankings in both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500.

To view our Costs & Litigation Funding Photolist, please click here.