Civil Case Management –

December 2013

Disbursement Training – Private Family Law

Disbursements

• These are sums paid out by the solicitor in connection with

the conduct of the particular case (as opposed to those

which could benefit any of his cases).

• Each and every disbursement must first have been

reasonable to incur and secondly reasonable in it’s amount.

• Guidance on disbursements can be found in section 3 of the

civil costs assessment manual.

• http://www.justice.gov.uk/legal-aid/funding

Evidence Requirements

• Invoices or receipts must be provided in respect of any

disbursement of £20 or more (inclusive of VAT).

• Where the nature of the disbursement, court fees and

mileage, is such that no invoice or receipt is available, this

should be evidenced by a note on file to this effect.

• The Claim form provides for a schedule of the disbursements

incurred, and these must be cross referenced against the

invoice or receipt received, and retained with the bill on

payment.

Types of Disbursements

• The variety of disbursements that can be incurred is

enormous, however they must have context within the

proceedings.

• They may include:

oBarristers fees.

oExperts Fees.

oCourt Fees.

oTravel Expenses.

oInterpreter Fees

Overheads & Administrative

• Disbursements do not include costs which are considered to

form part of the administrative overheads such:

oPhotocopying in-house*

oCourier fees*

oPostage

oStationary

oFaxes

oScanning

oTyping

oThere are exceptions*

Prior Authority

• You must consider whether the solicitor sought a prior

authority before incurring a disbursement.

• If an authority was sought and granted then the

disbursement should not be disallowed on assessment

(although the cost limits on the certificate can not be

exceeded).

• If no prior authority was sought or if prior authority was

sought and refused the decision is whether it was reasonable

to incur the disbursement.

• Prior authorities to exceed the set rates on certificates

granted after 03/10/2011 are dealt with by our Cardiff office.

Reasonableness

• All disbursements are subject to an assessment of whether

these costs are considered reasonable.

• Factors that will be considered are:

o What is it’s purpose and importance to the case?

o What service is involved and is there a choice of

alternative service providers (if so to what extent)

o Are all the elements of the service justified in the

particular case and at the particular time

o Is the time claimed in undertaking the service reasonable

and proportionate?

o Should the fees be apportioned?

Reasonable in Amount

• Historically there were no prescribed rates for the various

disbursements that might be incurred.

• For certificates granted post 03/10/11 the Legal Aid Reforms,

imposed prescribed rates for some types of disbursements

• These rates are mandatory and disbursements must be

checked to ensure that they have been applied.

• These rates can only be exceeded where a prior authority

has been granted.

• Guidance and rates can be found on the website

• http://www.justice.gov.uk/legal-aid/funding/using-experts

Civil and Family Expert Rates – Timeline of rates

No codified expert rates

Community Legal Service

(Funding) (Amendment No.2) Order

2011

Introduced codified rates

Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration)

Regulations April 2013

Pre-October 2011

On/after 3 October

2011

On/after 1 April 2013

On/after 2 December

2013

Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration)

Regulations December 2013

New rate for surveyors and removed London differential for some experts

Reduced most expert fees by 20%.

Maximum rates for experts have been in place since October 2011. The case start date

will determine which set of rates applies.

London and Non London Rates

• There are some rate differences between London and Non

London based experts

• London rates are payable when the expert is based within a

London borough

• You can enter their postcode or address in the following link

to determine whether they are based in a London borough

• http://local.direct.gov.uk/LDGRedirect/Start.do?mode=1

• The rate payable is based on the registered office of the

expert

• Where the expert has more than one office the office closest

to the client or provider should be used to determine the rate

No Expert Rate

• Where an expert is not listed the LAA or the court will assess

the rate payable

• In considering the rate at which to fund the expert service the

commission

oMust have regard to the rates set out in section for

other experts, and whether there are experts of a similar

nature

oMay require a number of quotes to assess the

reasonableness of the rate payable

oWhere necessary have access to the experts CV

Other Experts

• No cancellation fee is payable for an expert where the

hearing or appointment was cancelled more than 72 hours in

advance

• Travel time rates capped at £40 per hour.

• The rate payable for travel should never be more than the

hourly rate charged

• Mileage limited to 45p per mile

• No separate payment for administration costs such as typing,

consulting room or courier fees although the telephone calls

may be allowed if they progress the case.

Reasonableness – Time Spent

• There are no set times for expert reports in terms of what is

reasonable

• The factors that might influence the time spent are

oNumber of parties

oChildren and their vulnerability

oMental health problems

oCultural or language factors

Process Servers

• Generally we will see the following steps for process

serverso Collecting documents from the solicitors office or the

courto Travel to the address of the respondent or area given

(usually when the respondent does not have a fixed

address)o Service of documentso Travel back to the officeo Preparing and swearing affidavits

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Solicitor Travel• Travel by a solicitor is claimable based upon time (Profit

Costs) and also as to costs of travel (disbursement)

• Consideration should be given to

oWas there a reasonable need for the journey

oWas the appropriate form of transport used.

oWould it have been reasonable for the client to instruct

a more local provider

• If either aspect is considered inappropriate consideration

should be given to whether this impact upon the other aspect

of the cost.

Travel and Subsistence Rates

Standard Mileage Rate 45 pence per mile

Public Transport Mileage Rate 25 pence per mile

Train Travel Standard fares only

Overnight hotel (London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Newcastle upon tyne)

£85.25 per night

Overnight hotel (all other areas) £55.25 per night

Overnight (other than hotel) £25

Night subsistence allowance £21 per night

Personal Incidental allowance £5 per night

Other Client Travel

• The Commission may also be required to pay the funded

client’s travel costs to attend upon experts however the

solicitors will have to show that:

o The client was impecunious, and

o Travelling to the expert was necessary in order to make or

keep the case viable.

Court Fees

• These are fees paid to the court in respect of the issuing

of proceedings• They are a set amount but the amount differs depending

on the nature of proceedings• Details of the court fees can be found on the justice

website• http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/fees

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Evidence Requirements

Payment on Account Bill

Disbursement (unless specified below)

•Voucher for any disbursement over £20 (including VAT)•Voucher should contain breakdown of work undertaken and hourly rate

•Voucher for any disbursement over £20 (including VAT)•Voucher should contain breakdown of work undertaken and hourly rate•Schedule of disbursements to be provided

Drug and alcohol testing

•Invoice is required (no requirement for hourly rates)•Check POA matches invoice

•Invoice required with details of work undertaken•Court Order detailing what is to be tested

Court Fees •Voucher or copy of ledger detailing payment

•Voucher or copy of ledger detailing payment

Cost Assessment Guidance

Other Guidance

Requirement for voucher over £20 3.1

What disbursements can be incurred

3.2 Funding code criterion 1.3

Fee earner travel Costs 3.10 – 3.21

Funded client travel costs 3.22 – 3.31

Photocopying 3.36 – 3.38

Experts Fees 3.39 - 3.47 CLS (funding) order 2007Part 14 Payment Annex6.62 Contract Specification

Admin charges and cancellation fees

3.44 4.24 contract specification