Newsletter – April 2025

From the Chair

We were delighted that the CLSB was assessed by the Legal Services Board as providing sufficient assurance against all standards in the 2024 Regulatory Performance Assessment. In their report, published on 31 March 2025, the LSB said the CLSB “has continued to demonstrate the good practice we highlighted in last year’s report. Its approach continues to exemplify a model of good practice for other smaller regulators within the sector.”

The CLSB was the only regulator to be assessed as providing sufficient assurance against the three standards in the LSB’s framework: Well-led, Effective Approach to Regulation and Operational Delivery. This is the third year running that the CLSB has been assessed as providing sufficient assurance against all the applicable standards.

To be judged to be the top-performing legal regulator once was an achievement: to have done so three years running is really quite something, and all credit should go to our very small group of hard-working staff and our very committed and capable board.

We always aim to ensure that the practising fees you pay to the CLSB are put to the best possible use, and so are particularly pleased that the LSB’s report described the CLSB’s regulatory oversight as “targeted and responsive”. Your feedback in applications for a 2025 practising certificate shows that the Costs Lawyer profession also overwhelmingly considers the CLSB is an effective regulator.

In other news we have recently published the latest data on the Costs Lawyer profession, the results of our Career Pathways Survey, and updated data on students who enrol in the Costs Lawyer Qualification, all of which provide valuable insight into how the profession is evolving. More information on each of these can be found below. We would like to thank all Costs Lawyers who took the time to participate in these surveys – by doing so, you help us to identify areas in which we can do more to support the profession. We hope that you will find the data and reports interesting and useful.

The next newsletter message will once again be From the CEO: Paul Mosson takes up this post in May, and I know is very much looking forward to getting to know you all.

David

Rt Hon David Heath CBE, Chair

Regulatory News

New guidance on Client Care Letters

We have recently published a revised Guidance Note on Client Care Letters (CCL), to make it easier for you to understand and comply with both your regulatory obligations under the Code of Conduct and wider legal obligations under consumer protection law.
We will be introducing a new supervision framework to ensure compliance with the requirements from next year.

The revised guidance sets out what information you need to provide to clients in your CCL, as well as providing a checklist and a series of top tips.

If you work for an organisation that is authorised by another legal services regulator, such as the Solicitors Regulation Authority, that regulator’s rules and guidance will apply to your organisation’s CCL. However, you should check that your organisation’s CCL is sufficient to meet your individual obligations as a Costs Lawyer in the Code of Conduct.

We have also published new FAQs for clients in our information for the public on our website, setting out key questions that new clients should be asking you before you start work.

New guidance on Qualifying Experience

Our Guidance Note on Qualifying Experience has been updated with important information for trainee Costs Lawyers about presenting their evidence on completion of Qualifying Experience. Help trainees you supervise or work with by being familiar with the requirements under the current Training Rules.

Qualifying Experience is work in costs law and practice for a period of two years under the supervision of an eligible qualified person. It ensures trainees develop, and can demonstrate, the knowledge and skills required of a newly qualified Costs Lawyer, as set out in the Competency Statement.

Knowledge is assessed through the Costs Lawyer Professional Qualification, the other element of qualification. Successful completion of Qualifying Experience is determined by the CLSB on submission of evidence from the trainee and the supervisor. In their Qualifying Experience Record trainees are asked to provide, for each skill, one or more specific, detailed and dated examples of how they have practised the skill in the workplace. The examples that they provide should allow them to demonstrate at least some of the positive behavioural indicators listed for each skill.

When trainees submit a summary of their role and responsibilities, or how they approach their work without a specific, dated and detailed example, this does not provide the evidence required, and we have to ask them to revise their Record.

Find out more about Qualifying Experience, so you can help trainees in your organisation understand the requirements, on our how to qualify webpage.

Technology and AI – next steps

In October 2024, we published a report looking at Costs Lawyers, Technology and Regulation. The report examined emerging risks from technology and AI facing Costs Lawyers, barriers to Costs Lawyers making greater use of technology and AI, and what the CLSB could do to support the profession in this fast-changing area.

  • The report made 15 recommendations and identified 8 priority actions that the CLSB could take to help Costs Lawyers increase their take-up of AI and other new technologies. These priority actions include using competency and CPD requirements to encourage Costs Lawyers to stay up to date with developments in technology, providing guidance on the ethical issues of using AI, and emphasising cyber security as an area of risk. Following the report, we will:
  • Improve our information available for consumers by making it more accessible and helpful;
  • Develop guidance for Costs Lawyers on the ethical and professional issues associated with the use of technology and AI. This will include new resources in the CLSB Ethics Hub, and considering whether the Competency Framework should be updated to explicitly refer to technology and AI skills;
    • Collaborate with other regulators, the Legal Services Consumer Panel, representative bodies and others in this area, and participate in the LSB Technology and Innovation Forum; and
  • Obtain further evidence inform our work on technology and AI, such as holding a roundtable with Costs Lawyers who provide consumer-facing services to understand their technology needs.

If you would like to find out more, or participate in our future work in this area, please contact [email protected].

CLSB publishes results of Career Pathways Survey

The CLSB has published the results of its 2024 Career Pathways Survey. The survey provided interesting insights into how respondents found out about careers in costs law, the factors that influenced their decision to join the profession, and how they would like their careers to develop in the future.

Key findings include that almost half of respondents found out about costs law as a career option via their workplace or through another job they had at the time, showing that more needs to be done to raise awareness of costs law as a career option at school and university level. Being part of a regulated profession was a major influence in the choice to become a regulated Costs Lawyer for many respondents, with 71% saying that ‘personal pride in my regulatory status’ was a very important factor in their decision.

Over 70% of respondents thought that more clarity about the distinction between Costs Lawyers and unregulated costs advisors was essential for supporting the career progression of current Costs Lawyers and new entrants to the profession. Over a third of respondents thought that more support for Costs Lawyers from non-traditional backgrounds, and more support for Costs Lawyers dealing with work-related stress was needed. Respondents also identified wider recognition from the judiciary, Costs Lawyers becoming eligible to apply for judicial posts, and greater visibility for the profession, as changes that would benefit the current and future profession.

The CLSB will now work with Costs Lawyers, the Association of Costs Lawyers, ACL Training and the Apprenticeship Trailblazer working group to identify practical steps that can be taken to support the career progression of current and future Costs Lawyers, in line with the survey findings.

We would like to thank all the Costs Lawyers that participated in the survey. If you would like to find out more or participate in our future work in this area, please contact [email protected].

Spotlight on… devolution in Wales

In this newsletter, we turn our spotlight on devolution in Wales. Andrew Felton, Head of Justice Stakeholders at the Welsh Government, provides an overview.

“The Senedd election next May will usher in the next phase of devolution in Wales… the changes will present opportunities for Costs Lawyers and their fellow practitioners across the legal sector. It is important that lawyers are actively involved with devolution in Wales, so they are well equipped both to deliver their vital legal services to clients and help shape Welsh law and policy.”

Read More

Up and Coming…

Expect more from us shortly on:

  • New resources in the Ethics Hub, including dealing with vexatious complaints
  • Guidance on sham litigation and reasonable adjustments
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