COSTS INFORMATION AND THE OMBUDSMAN 7: HEADING OFF PROBLEMS AT THE OUTSET: (WEBINAR THIS THURSDAY 19th MARCH 2026 – WITH LOTS OF CHECKLISTS)

This short series has aimed to highlight the ongoing difficulties that litigators, in particular, can have with giving compliant costs information to their clients.  In looking at this topic it is clear that there are numerous cases where clients have complained and the lawyers have been found to be in breach of their duties to provide costs information.  These are  essential skills that every litigator mush have. However there is very little practical guidance and help on to how to comply with these duties and head off problems and complaints before they arise.  This is something I aim to address in the webinar this Thursday.

 DOCUMENTS SUPPLIED WITH THE WEBINAR

In preparing the webinar I have  have produced a series of Checklists and draft letters.

• A booklet with 10 checklists for the lawyer to help ensure that they are providing information throughout the case.
• A checklist on the information to be provided and obtained upon initial instructions.
• A draft costs information letter.
• A costs update letter.
• A checklist to be given to the client.

What the webinar covers

This practical webinar will address:

• How the Legal Ombudsman is approaching costs complaints — and why firms are losing them
• Key Ombudsman decisions where firms have been ordered to repay fees or pay compensation
• Current guidance issued by the Legal Ombudsman
• The duties under the Solicitors Code of Conduct
• Why the duty to inform clients about costs is continuing, not a one-off obligation
• Particular risks that arise when acting under Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs)
• Cases in which inadequate or misleading estimates have led to adverse findings against solicitors
• Why poor estimates can undermine recovery oninter partes assessments
• How to avoid complaints and adverse findings: retainers, letters of advice, and a practical compliance checklist
• Advising a client who complains about costs — should the complaint be taken to the Ombudsman or pursued under the Solicitors Act?

The focus throughout is practical and defensive: what firms need to say, record, update and retain in order to withstand complaints, assessments and scrutiny after the event.

BOOKING DETAILS

Booking details are available here 

THE COSTS (AND LINK TO DISCOUNT CODE FOR CLB MEMBERS)

The costs are £100 plus VAT. (CLB members obtain a 25% discount, use the discount code at the bottom of this post)

There are discounts for bookings of 5, the costs for 5 is £400 (again CLB members obtain a 25% discount using the code in this post).