This is a summary of the LAA’s Costs Assessment Guidance applicable to the 2013, 2014 and 2015 contracts, in respect of the most common queries raised by caseworkers. Paragraph numbers are from the Guidance, which can be found on the website at www.gov.uk/funding-and-costs-assessment-for-civil-and-crime-matters.

Opening and setting up files, maintaining time costing records and other time spent in complying with the requirements of the Standard Contract are not chargeable (para 2.1). Letters confirming appointments etc with no legal content are administrative if sent by a non fee-earner. They may be allowable if considered by a fee-earner to be appropriate in the particular circumstances of a client. (para 2.19).

Normally (and where claimable), this is time on your feet before a court or tribunal; but note that in the Family Advocacy Scheme advocacy also includes travel to court, waiting time and attendance at advocates’ meetings. The Costs Assessment Guidance states that where you do your own advocacy, it is reasonable to claim for preparing a brief to yourself (para 2.39).

They stand in your shoes and their costs are part of your profit costs. You cannot claim their fees as a disbursement.

This is the conventional legal costing term for interviewing someone face-to-face, or speaking to them on the telephone. The presumption is that work will be done as quickly as possible, which can seem strange to some people in the not-for-profit sector who have been trained to let the client take their time.

All claims for attendance must be justified in an attendance note. The longer the time claimed, the more detail is expected.

You may be able to justify more than one caseworker being present; but this would be exceptional, for example, in a complex case, where different aspects of it have been split between different people (para 2.36). In a complex case you may be able to justify the time of two caseworkers in the same category of law where you would be able to justify claiming legal research (see Legal research for more details). You may be able to justify the time of two caseworkers in different categories of law if a difficult or unusual point arises and it would be reasonable. Supervision is a generally considered to be an overhead and not chargeable (para 2.37).

You can claim for attendance during the lunchtime adjournment if at court (2.55).

Fee earners must prepare master bundles for court, and often for counsel. Identifying the documents for the master bundle and drafting the index is fee-earner work. Making up or copying of additional bundles is not chargeable. Where the bundles are above average size it is reasonable for fee earners to check that copies have been properly collated and reproduced (para 2.17). See also chapter 16 for bundle payments under the Family Advocacy Scheme.

This is claimable where incurred exclusively in relation to the case but not where your journey to work would have meant you incurred the charge anyway (para 3.20).

See Perusal.

Must be reasonably incurred and reasonable in amount (para 3.1). Some are explicitly excluded under the contract specification, where they are listed (see Paragraph 4.21 of the Specification in relation to controlled work and Paragraph 6.61 of the Specification in relation to licensed work (6.60 2015 Specification). Most communication support professionals’ fees are regarded as a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010 and therefore an overhead which cannot be charged for but sign language interpreters’ costs can be claimed. They must be accounted for separately as they are excluded from the statutory charge (para 3.6). See also chapter 13 for information about guideline rates and amounts for experts’ fees.

No extra costs can be claimed that arise because you are in a location that is distant from your client, where it would be reasonable for the client to instruct someone closer (para 2.46) (see also Travel time).

As a guideline, 6–12 minutes’ preparation time would be expected per page of a straightforward document, but more complex documents will take longer (para 2.16). It is reasonable to re-examine the core documents to consider their effect on the case. However, the degree to which this will be justified depends entirely on the complexity of the issues (para 2.9).

See Letters.

These are treated as letters; but you cannot claim for sending a copy by post as well as the fax. See Letters for more detail.

Generally not claimable; but there are exceptions (paras 2.58–2.63):

CW1 where the client is eligible;

CLR in Immigration cases;

application forms for certificates (30 minutes is standard but may be exceeded where justifiable);

applications for amendments to certificates;

POA claims;

applications to increase financial limitations on certificates;

Claim 1 and Claim 2 (12–18 minutes);

Claim 4 (12 minutes).

Completion of forms on behalf of clients is only claimable where legal assistance is justified, eg sections of the Disability Living Allowance form.

Not claimable unless on a novel, developing or unusual point of law or the impact of new legislation to the particular case (para 2.5). However, it may still be reasonable for time for checking on the application of established law or procedural rules to individual circumstances to be claimed, provided the reasons are recorded (para 2.6).

You can only claim for reading routine letters received in Family Legal Help matters (para 2.23). You can only charge for reading routine letters received in Family proceedings (para 2.23). You can charge for reading non-routine letters received in all categories.

These are either ‘routine’ and claimed at the item rate, because they are standard letters or take up to six minutes to write, or they are preparation rate letters, because they take longer to write than six minutes (para 2.18).

You cannot charge for administrative letters, eg confirming an appointment sent by a non-fee-earner. You may be able to charge if the fee earner has considered the letter appropriate in the circumstances of a particular client. You cannot charge for multiple letters sent to the same client or party on the same day, unless there is a good reason that justifies it. You cannot charge for a letter correcting your own mistake (para 2.19).

The following are office overheads and not claimable: costs of postage, stationery, faxes, scanning, typing and the actual cost of telephone calls and most photocopying, but see below for exceptional photocopying costs (para 3.37). Supervision is generally considered to be an overhead (para 2.37).

These can only be claimed in exceptional circumstances, where it would be unreasonable to travel the distance there and back and carry out whatever was required in one day (para 3.18).

This is also known as consideration of documents. An initial brief perusal of all the documents to identify which documents are relevant is reasonable. Later detailed consideration of documents may also be reasonable (para 2.8). As a very rough guide it takes approximately two minutes per A4 page to read the most simple document. Time taken will depend on the quality and layout of the document, eg whether handwritten or typed, single- or double-spaced, large or small font, etc. More complex documents may take a longer (para 2.12).

Photocopying in-house is generally an overhead expense, but if there are ‘unusual circumstances’, or documents are unusually numerous (as a rule of thumb, 500 pages), you may claim the lowest commercial photocopying rate as a disbursement, even when carried out in-house (para 3.38).

Includes drafting of documents, consideration of documents and evidence provided by the client or other parties, and general consideration of strategy, evidence needed and evidence to be put forward and whether to make or accept offers to settle a case, and ‘thinking time’ (para 2.7). You can claim for preparation undertaken during the lunchtime adjournment if at court (2.55).

You are expected to be familiar with your own files, so you would need to justify any claim for reading a file, eg prior to seeing a client when you had not dealt with the file for some time (para 2.39). You cannot charge for reviewing a file when it is reallocated from one caseworker to another, unless this is due to unforeseeable circumstances, eg the client needs to give urgent instructions and the first caseworker is not available (para 2.41).

These are either ‘routine’ and claimed at the item rate, because they take up to six minutes, or they are attendance rate calls, because they take longer than six minutes (para 2.26). You can claim for an unsuccessful call; but if you make repeated calls to the same number, you would have to justify it. You can claim a routine call for leaving a message on an answering machine. If you are put ‘on hold’, after the first six minutes on the call, you can charge the waiting time at the waiting rate (para 2.27). However, bear in mind that it may be more efficient to write a letter.

These are treated as telephone calls. See Telephone calls for more detail.

See Reviewing files.

The general rule is that if the round trip travel time is five hours or more, it is usually more reasonable to instruct an agent than to go yourself. However, in some circumstances it may be reasonable to go (para 2.44):

Usually, the client should come to you; but if the client is housebound, in hospital or detention, it may be reasonable for you to travel to the client (para 2.47).

Caseworkers’ travelling expenses can be claimed where the journey was necessary and the most appropriate form of transport used (para 3.11). The LAA considers that public transport should normally be used; but time saved will be considered as well as travel fares or mileage. Taxis may be justified, eg when transporting heavy bundles. Local travelling expenses to court cannot be claimed (eg within a ten-mile radius) unless public transport is known to be poor. Documentary evidence must support claims over £20 (except mileage) (para 3.17).

You can pay clients’ expenses to attend court and claim them back from the LAA as a disbursement (documentary evidence is required as for caseworkers). Prior authority can be sought for a clients’ travelling expenses to an expert where the client cannot afford them and a report is essential for the proper conduct of proceedings, as the request would be considered ‘unusual in nature’ (para 3.26).

You should not normally arrive at court more than 30 minutes before a hearing. If you have to, perhaps due to transport timetables, you should record the reason on file (para 2.53). You cannot claim waiting time during the lunchtime adjournment; but you can claim for attendance or preparation undertaken during that time (2.55).

If you are out ‘on hold’, after the first six minutes on the call, you can charge the waiting time at the waiting rate (para 2.27).