Costs and Billings for All Lawyers: Your CPD Compulsory Units
Protect yourself and your practice by making sure that you have the right skills in your costs and billing toolkit. Gain tips on improving costs recovery in litigation, examine lessons from recent case law and ensure you’re across your obligations regarding cost disclosures and ethical billing. Don’t miss out on squaring away your CPD compulsory units for the year and brushing up on your knowledge of costs in one afternoon. WEB213N42
Description
Attend and earn 3 CPD units including:
1 unit in Ethics & Professional Responsibility
1 unit in Practice Management & Business Skills
1 unit in Professional Skills
This program is based on NSW legislation
Chair: Daniel Taylor, Managing Director, CCSG Legal
Ethics & Professional Responsibility
2.00pm to 3.00pm Panel Discussion and Q+A: Ethical Billing and the Importance of Communication
A discussion on cost disclosures, ethical billing and the importance of communication.
Panellists
Janet McDonald, Barrister, Level 22 Chambers
Professional Skills
3.00pm to 4.00pm Improving Costs Recovery in Litigation
- Negotiating costs
- Obtaining the optimum costs orders
- Security for costs application
- Lump sum costs orders
Presented by Peta Solomon, Director, Costs Partners
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon tea
Practice Management and Business Skills
4.15pm to 5.15pm Determinations on Costs from the Last 12 Months: Lessons for Your Practice
Review recent costs cases from the past year and discuss the practices, trends and findings arising out of the costs assessment process and how the decisions and determinations by costs assessors may impact on your practice.
Presented by Mike Dudman, Director, Costs Lawyer, Blackstone Legal Costing; Accredited Specialist in Costs Law; Queensland Court Appointed Costs Assessor
Presenters
Daniel Taylor, Managing Director, CCSG Legal
Daniel is the founding director of CCSG Legal. Daniel brings a vast experience in both commercial and consumer recoveries, as well as commercial and insolvency litigation. Daniel is often called upon by many blue-chip clients to provide directional advice in the provision of legal and debt recovery services. In addition, Daniel is a regular presenter to both the credit and insolvency sectors on an extensive range of topics. Daniel is currently the National Vice President of the Institute of Mercantile Agents and the Chair of the Collections Subcommittee as well as the Australian/New Zealand Chair for the Council of Delegates for ACA International.
Janet McDonald, Barrister, Level 22 Chambers
Janet commenced her life in the law as a litigation solicitor with Corrs Chambers Westgarth. Thereafter she worked as a legal costs consultant/lawyer, at all times as a shareholder and/or director, of both Driscoll & Matters and DG Thompson. As a result of her background she has considerable expertise in the area of legal costs, both party/party and practitioner/client, and regularly advises and appears in appeals from costs assessment. However since being called to the Bar she has also embarked upon more general commercial litigation, including class actions and has been appointed as a costs referee by both the Federal Court and the Supreme Court of NSW. She has been a member of the Bar Association’s Costs and Fees Committee since 2010.
Peta Solomon, Director, Costs Partners
Peta Solomon BA LLB has specialised in the area of legal costs for the last 21 years. In that period she has prepared in excess of 1,800 bills of costs and numerous Notices of Objection, submissions in all jurisdictions including appearing before taxing officers in the Federal, Family and High Court jurisdictions both in support of and in opposition to claims for costs. She also specialises in practice management advice work in the area of legal costs, costs recovery and costs leakage. She has been the principal of Costs Partners Pty Limited for ten years. Peta has provided expert evidence in relation to legal costs in particular with respect to applications for security for costs and has undertaken costs mediations and negotiations on behalf of a wide range of clients. In addition she has provided advice in relation to tenders for large users of legal services. Peta currently sits on the Supreme Court Costs Users Group and contributes to the column on costs in the Precedent journal.
Mike Dudman, Director, Costs Lawyer, Blackstone Legal Costing
Mike Dudman leads Blackstone's Sydney practice and brings both a client- and results-oriented approach to the legal costs arena. Mike's extensive commercial experience is complemented by a broad education that includes business, psychology and the law. Practicing in this increasingly complex legal area since 2000, Mike is an accredited specialist in costs law and a Court appointed costs assessor. Mike has been involved in challenging or pursuing party/party costs claims across all major jurisdictions in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, the ACT and federally.