She largely deals with costs recovery for the receiving party in high-value personal injury and clinical negligence claims. Victoria also has experience in paying and receiving party costs relating to commercial disputes, contentious property litigation, employment claims, family disputes and housing disrepair.

Her work encompasses all aspects of costs management, including drafting cost budgets, preparation of budget discussion reports and negotiations, monitoring and advising on costs beyond the CCMC, and dealing with budget revisions. Victoria’s work also includes preparation of large and complex N260s, and specifically, she has vast experience of drafting and negotiating substantial bills of costs on settlement to include preparation of points of dispute and reply. She also provides ad-hoc advice on a variety of costs related issues. Victoria began her career in costs in early 2011 and has over 13 years’ experience.

Taking a holistic and comprehensive approach, Ashley is able to assist from matter inception up to settlement. His workload includes the preparation of initial pitch estimates and costs estimates, preparation and negotiation of costs budgets and schedules of costs, proactive budget monitoring throughout a case ensuring effective spend management, assisting with security for costs, and the preparation and negotiation of complex and high value bills of costs. Ashley also undertakes advocacy. He is comfortable advising all levels of client across the firm, no matter their seniority, and provides well-reasoned and detailed advice to assist with costs recovery at various stages and to provide ad-hoc advice when required. In addition, Ashley has a particular interest in budgeting and costs management and leads the firm’s costs budgeting approach to ensure accurate costs budget monitoring and costs management across the firm. He works closely with the finance and IT teams, and external partners, to use and improve the firm’s budgeting tool.

Ashley qualified as a costs lawyer in 2018. He has previously worked for costs consultancies and in-house teams. Ashley recently qualified as a legal project practitioner after undertaking a legal project management course. He is currently exploring how the firm’s costs team can add value to various departments and clients in respect of a legal project management offering. Ashley also provides firmwide training, covering topics including maximising costs recovery and best practice training regarding budget monitoring. He provides support to more junior members of the team, including mentoring and supporting a current team member undertaking studies to qualify as a costs lawyer.

He is a member of the costs team, having been part of the team’s inauguration and subsequent development into what it is today. Steve has a wide range of experience of costs spanning over 30 years, including in clinical negligence, personal injury, commercial litigation, arbitration, employment and family matters.

His role includes preparing costs budgets and attendance at CCMCs, preparing bills of costs, points of dispute and replies, attending detailed assessment hearings, and advising on all aspects of costs. His involvement can range from being ‘cradle to grave’, including advising on funding and providing costs estimates for clients, to ‘light touch’ advice, as and when required. Steve is a member of the Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL), which is the representative body for costs lawyers and promotes and protects their interests.

She also drafts, varies and negotiates budgets, and carries out advocacy at costs and case management conferences (CCMCs), as well as assisting instructing solicitors with keeping budgeted costs within the amount set by the court. Rebecca provides advice on informal queries on all costs issues, from retainers to Part 36. She also regularly defends claims for costs in housing disrepair and travel claims, including drafting points of dispute and reporting to client insurers.

Rebecca’s career in costs began in 2005, dealing with claims on unsuccessful cases for an ATE insurer. Since then, she has worked at both claimant and defendant firms, giving her excellent experience on both sides of the line and insight into how either party’s lawyers may approach costs. She continues to expand her knowledge in the field and qualified as a costs lawyer in September 2025.

Where a costs claim cannot be settled through negotiation, Katie has experience in preparing detailed points of dispute and points in reply dealing with points in principle, including retainer/funding issues, and arguments over the time claimed. Her costs experience began in 2013, following three years spent as a personal injury claims handler and after working as a County Court advocate dealing with a variety of case types including approval hearings in personal injury and medical negligence claims.

Katie joined the firm in 2023, having previously worked in-house as a costs draftsperson and costs team manager at a firm dealing predominately with medical negligence, actions against the police and high-profile public inquiries. She also has experience in dealing with defendant costs, particularly in relation to cross-jurisdictional claims, and with group litigation. A key part of her role has been advising on costs issues and tactical points, with a focus on case progression.