Costs run through every civil case. A client wants to know two things before they spend a penny: what happens if we win, and what happens if we lose. As a solicitor you advise on both, and the answers shape whether a case is worth running, when to settle, and how hard to push. Getting costs right protects your client's money — and getting them wrong can wipe out the value of a victory.
This lesson builds your understanding step by step:
- Foundations and the Tracks — what 'costs' means, the loser-pays starting point, and how recovery differs across the small claims, fast, intermediate, and multi-tracks.
- Costs Budgeting on the Multi-Track — controlling spend in advance, the sanction for filing late, and how budgets cap recovery.
- Bases of Assessment and Proportionality — the standard and indemnity bases and what each requires.
- The Court's Discretion on Costs — identifying the winner and the factors that shift the usual order.
- Part 36 Costs Consequences — the rewards and penalties triggered by offers to settle.
- Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting (QOCS) — the protection given to personal injury claimants.
- Summary and Detailed Assessment — how costs are quantified after an order.
- Interim and Special Costs Orders — what the common costs orders actually mean.
- Wasted and Non-Party Costs Orders — when lawyers and funders pay personally.
- Assessment of Solicitor's Bills — a client's right to challenge their own solicitor's charges.