Costs & Billing Forum
This comprehensive examination of Costs will provide you with an in-depth guide on how to draft effective costs agreements that will keep clients satisfied and practices running smoothly. You’ll gain information, strategies and best practices to effectively communicate with clients while mastering navigating client complaints. Work through the best tactics to recover costs.. Consider strategies to avoid ethical traps and earn your core CPD points in this unique & focused program. WEB223N43
Description
Attend and earn 4 CPD units including:
1 unit in Ethics & Professional Responsibility
1 unit in Practice Management & Business Skills
2 units in Professional Skills
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Chair: Mike Dudman, Director, Costs Lawyer, Blackstone Legal Costing; Accredited Specialist in Costs Law
Professional Skills
9.00am to 10.00am A Guide to Drafting Costs Agreements & Fee Estimates
- What should be in your costs agreement? Understanding the requirements
- Preparing a fee estimate: How do you effectively scope your work?
- Conditional costs agreements: What needs to go in them?
- Professional conduct issues involving costs agreements
Presented by Cate Dealehr, Principal, Australian Legal Costing Group; Accredited Specialist in Costs Law
Practice Management & Business Skills
10.00am to 11.00am Communicating with Clients about Costs
Solicitors need to accept that talking about costs with clients is not vulgar – raising the topic with clients is actually a crucial skill that will help avoid costs disputes. Explore how to raise the issue and what to say including:
- How to introduce the topic of costs with a client
- Managing a client who expects frequent contact or has other demands with cost implications
- Explaining the role of the involvement, supervision and costs of junior solicitors
- Managing client expectations about costs:
- When fixed fees are an option
- What to say when they aren’t
- Never be a post box and why
- What to do when things change and you need to revise costs:
- Explaining this to the client
- Is your agreement robust and clear?
- When do you need to revise your agreement?
Presented by Justine Woods, Partner, Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers; Best Lawyers 2022, Family Law & Family Law Mediation; Recommended Family & Divorce Lawyer and Parenting & Children’s Matters Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2021
11.00am to 11.10am Break
Professional Skills
11.10am to 12.10pm Recovering Costs: From Clients and from Other Parties
- Top 10 tips in costs recovery
- Reducing the solicitor/client vs party/party gap
- Alternatives to costs assessment
Presented by Mike Dudman, Director, Costs Lawyer, Blackstone Legal Costing; Accredited Specialist in Costs Law
Ethics & Professional Responsibility
12.10pm to 1.10pm Ethical Billing and Effectively Dealing with Client Complaints
- Obligations regarding costs and cost disclosures
- Ethical billing: examples of bad practice
- Clear and transparent billing
- Ethical considerations when a client complains about costs
- What are your options for resolution?
Presented by Suzanne Ward, Special Counsel, Pattison Hardman