ON-LINE GUIDANCE ON COSTS BUDGETING AND FILLING OUT FORM H: UPDATED
Form H (Precedent H) is now a central part of the litigation process. It was the delay in lodging the Form H that led to sanctions being imposed in the Mitchell case. Many people are facing completion of the form for the first time and are experiencing difficulties. I have set out links to many useful sources of help and information available on this topic.
(Incidentally the Advice I give to many solicitors who face filling in Form H is don’t. The task is far more than giving a broad estimate of costs. You are unlikely to be allowed to exceed the budget; you cannot compensate with under-estimates on one part of the budget by taking from another part. The defendants in Mitchell sent their budget off to independent specialists; the claimant did not and their solicitors are now litigating with no real hope of recovering costs. )
NEW LINKS OCTOBER 30TH 2014
- District Judge Besford & Ken Corness, Costs Lawyer: Costs budgeting in practice
- Bidwell Henderson on How to Prepare a Precedent H Costs Budget
- Zenith Chamber’s have the guidance notes and an Excel version of Form H here
- Janne Purdie writes on Costs budgets- precedent H and some thoughts on the difficulties of completing it
- The Commercial Litigation Association has the text of a speech by Master Gordon-Saker on “The Litigation Journey” (Which has much to say about costs budgets)
OFFICIAL GUIDANCE
Form H can be found at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/pdf/update/precedent-h.pdf
The Government’s Guidance Notes on Form H can be found at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/pdf/update/new-precedent-h-guidance.pdf
ARTICLES
There are a number of articles which explore how to fill out Form H
New Law Journal: Counting the pennies
http://www.newlawjournal.co.uk/nlj/content/counting-pennies-0
New Law Journal: Precedent H Setting
http://www.newlawjournal.co.uk/nlj/content/precedent-h-setting
DeNovo: Costs Budgeting- Precedent H: When Form- Filling Really Matters
http://www.denovolaw.co.uk/news/costs-budgeting-precedent-h-when-form-filling-really-matters
Legal Support Network : Precedent H and Costs Budgeting – the basics
BLOGS
The Following Blogs look at Form H and provide tips on how to fill it out
Paul Hawkings Law Cost Drafting: Multi-Track Costs Budgeting
http://www.hawkinslawcost.co.uk/dl/Budgeting%20Guidance%20Note.pdf
Kerry Underwood : Costs Management Orders and Costs Budgeting Including the New CPR
http://kerryunderwood.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/costs-management-orders-and-costs-budgeting/
Johns Mackenzie : Precedent H- Legal Costs, Lawyers and an upward spiral
http://johnsmackenzie.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/precedent-h-legal-costs-lawyers-and-an-upward-spiral/
Other resources
LexisNexis PSL Dispute Resolution: Costs Budgeting and Estimates
and
http://lexisweb.co.uk/blog/dr/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/precedent_h_checklist.pdf
(I will be pleased to add other articles, blog posts or resources to this post if anyone gets in touch with details).
RELATED POSTS
- See the articles at