Thevoluntary adoption of so-called J-Codes has already begun, and the profession willmigrate towards the new style bill of costs, due for adoption within the SCCOin October 2016. The intention of the new system is to enable both judges andcosts judges to summarise and analyse time spent and costs incurred during acase.
But,while the theory behind the move is sensible, there are many pitfalls, as USpractitioners have subsequently discovered. “The aim is to reduce the amount ofcosts incurred in preparing a Bill of Costs at the conclusion of the case”, explainsJoe Rose, Senior Costs Lawyer at A&M Bacon. “The J-codes are based on the‘UTBMS Codes’, which have been in place in the US for 20 years now.”
“However, many in the US now believe that the UTBMS Codes should bedispensed with altogether, because their lack of consistency has resulted in asignificant amount of wasted time and the resulting data being of little usedue to a lack of consistency,” he advises.
“One American Legal Auditor estimates that 90% of US lawyers were usingthe system at the outset, but that this percentage is down to 10% today. Manyin the US now believe that the UTBMS Codes should be dispensed with altogether,“ explains Rose.
“If UK firms are going to use the codes, either the fee earnerthemselves or an experienced costs expert needs to be inputting the codes. But,it doesn’t make commercial sense for fee earners to do this, as they can claim ahigher hourly rate for fee earning work. This is why costs experts are the perfectsolution, with lower hourly rates matched to greater expertise,” explains Rose.
“A&M Bacon has spent many months working with its existing clients, preparing them for thesechanges. Moreover, we have invested heavily in IT and staff training, as wellas arranging to visit clients to keep the codes up to date. Of course, forclients not wishing to implement J-Codes, we will still be preparing bills andbudgets in the normal format. This will ensure that clients are notdisadvantaged, regardless of which system they choose to adopt,” concludesRose.
For further advice on J-Codes and any matters relating to costs,practitioners are urged to contact Joe directly, either on 02038 239 980 or at joe.rose@aandmbacon.co.uk
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