Newsletter December 2025

Newsletter – December 2025

From the CEO

Our final newsletter before the end of 2025 hits your inbox after the window to renew your practising certificates has closed. If you have not done so already, the deadline was 30 November 2025. The fallout from the decision in Mazur featured heavily at the ACL conference last month, but while some questioned whether it would stand and you may have read in the news that CILEX have been granted leave to appeal, many I spoke to saw it for the opportunity it is to reinforce why clients should be choosing you, a regulated and authorised Costs Lawyer.

Have you renewed your practising certificate for 2026?
The deadline for 2026 practising certificate applications was 30 November 2025. If you have not yet made your application please do so as a matter of urgency. Late applications are subject to an additional £30 late payment fee.

ACL Conference
I really appreciated the ACL’s invitation to our Chair, Rt Hon David Heath CBE, and me to address the ACL’s November conference in London. While David fielded much wider questions from the audience, I focussed on the CLSB’s position in relation to Mazur and outlined the opportunities we believe present themselves to underline the value and importance of using a regulated and authorised Costs Lawyer. The CLSB will be supporting you in doing this with a new Communications Toolkit that we’re currently in the final stages of testing with an audience of volunteers. This toolkit will give you some digital assets and narratives that can be used to underline your regulatory status to existing and prospective clients, lay or professional, in a consistent manner. We’re not telling you how to do your business marketing, instead we aim to give you a consistent, recognisable and verifiable regulatory identity. As soon as feedback is in and we’ve taken whatever action, if any, we need to, we’ll launch this to the wider profession.

Neuro-inclusion during the festive season
As the end of the year draws to a close the usual party season begins. My diary is already full till January and while I enjoy the festive season’s fun as much as anyone, I want to mention some important considerations. Firstly, please refer to the Ethics Hub for guidance on work parties and behaviour outside of the workplace, it is of special importance at this time of the year. Over the last couple of decades, many workplaces and individuals have become much better at thinking inclusively about the types of events that are planned, especially considering other religions, alcohol and those with caring responsibilities (this list is not meant to be exhaustive). However I would also like to mention how this festive season can impact on those who identify as neurodivergent.

The festive season can impact the neurodivergent community in different ways, many of who may find large gatherings a sensory overload, such as smells, noise, textures, or the physical environment. Often there may be difficulty picking up on social cues or ‘getting the joke’ making them feel awkward. This is why many withdraw from these environments. Others, especially those with ADHD may find it overstimulating and that mixed with alcohol may be too much.

If someone tells you that they don’t want to go to the Christmas party, it is important to listen to them. If you want to find out how to make events more inclusive ask questions, but instead of asking ‘why do you not want to go?’, maybe ask questions like ‘how could we make this more accommodating for you?’, or ‘what would make it more comfortable for you in the future?’. Whatever they say, there’s no need to give a quick reaction, instead maybe take it away and think about that for the future (it’s likely too late to make changes now). Too often I’ve heard well meaning colleagues say to others that they’ll be missed, nice comments from friends at work who want everyone to be involved, but unfortunately it can come across as pressure.

If there’s still time, think about how you’re arranging your celebration this year, one idea (amongst the many) would be some quiet spaces where people can go if they’re feeling a bit overwhelmed. This can create a neuro-inclusive celebration season but ultimately if it’s not someone’s cup of tea then it’s not someone’s cup of tea, and it really doesn’t say anything about their ability to perform their role or be an effective team member. It is also not a measure of their friendship, it probably just means they don’t like crowds.

Just in case you think I’m a grinch, my tree went up on 1 December and if you’re a fan of Christmas markets and happen to be in the North West of England then there’s a good chance you’ll bump into me.

I’ll close off my message with one of festive good will and I look forward to delivering on our regulatory objectives in 2026.

Paul Mosson

CEO

Regulatory News

Take part in the next phase of our career pathways research

The CLSB is launching the next phase of its research looking at entry into, and progression within, the Costs Lawyer profession. We have commissioned the Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) to carry out qualitative research with regulated Costs Lawyers. The aim of the research is to deepen understanding of Costs Lawyers’ career trajectories and career thinking through a programme of interviews. Will you take part?

In 2024, the CLSB carried out a survey focussed on entry into, and progression within, the Costs Lawyer profession. This was part of a wider programme of work aimed at understanding Costs Lawyers’ career experiences, and what steps we could take to strengthen the current profession and support the next generation of Costs Lawyers.

We’re hoping a wide range of Costs Lawyers will be interested in taking part in the next stage of this important research. We’re looking to include a broad range of career experiences and perspectives in the research, from senior Costs Lawyers to those at the early stages of their careers, as well as showcase the diversity of the profession in case studies. We therefore encourage Costs Lawyers from all backgrounds to consider taking part, and particularly those from groups currently under-represented in the profession If you would like to take part, you can express your interest by completing CRAC’s short pre-participation questionnaire. CRAC will select a pool of interviewees from those who volunteer to ensure that a variety of career experiences are reflected in the research.

Please note that completing this survey does not guarantee you will be selected for an interview, refer to the Data Privacy Notice for details on how CRAC will use your information.

If you have any questions about the project, please contact Lori Frecker, Director of Policy, [email protected].

CPD

In line with the CPD Rules you must undertake an evaluation of your CPD in 2025 and keep a written record of this evaluation. The CLSB template for planning and recording CPD provides an easy way to do this, and it is available on our CPD webpage.

Please note that from 1 January 2026 it will be mandatory for all Costs Lawyers to use the CLSB template for planning and recording their CPD each practising year. The template will be emailed to all Costs Lawyers at the start of the 2026 practising year.

Our annual CPD audits suggest that some Costs Lawyers are still unaware of the requirements to identify your training needs and set CPD objectives at the start of each practising year, and to keep a written record of your CPD objectives and activities as well as the effectiveness of your CPD against your objectives.

Alongside providing greater flexibility and choice for you to choose the right training for your own professional development needs, this requirement came into force when the CPD Rules were revised with effect from 1 January 2021. Our audits also show that the Costs Lawyers who have used the CLSB template for planning and recording CPD have found it valuable. For more information see our webpage on lessons from the audits of CPD records.

Your written record of planning and recording CPD will be requested by the CLSB in the event of a CPD audit.

Call for CLSB advisory group members

The CLSB has an informal advisory group of Costs Lawyers to provide feedback that will inform our decisions on a range of issues which don’t lend themselves to formal consultation. We are looking to expand the group.

The Advisory Group provides feedback which is sought by email. All requests have a clear deadline, and there is no obligation to respond if you’re busy. Questions put to the group could be anything from “Which font do you find easier to read?” to “What are the biggest issues facing your business right now?”, and everything in between. We always find feedback from the group extremely useful, and are looking to expand its number. If you are interested in joining, please email [email protected].

Please complete the 2025 diversity survey

If you didn’t complete our 2025 diversity survey on caring responsibilities when you renewed your practising certificate, please do so by 31 December 2025, after which the survey will close. You can access the survey here.

The CLSB’s research on Pathways into the Profession showed that almost 50% of Costs Lawyers have caring responsibilities for an adult, children or both.

We want to hear from you about whether caring responsibilities may affect your work as a Costs Lawyer, to what extent, and what further support you would like to see for Costs Lawyers with caring responsibilities. We’re keen to hear from all Costs Lawyers on this important topic, even if you don’t currently have caring responsibilities yourself.

The short survey contains 11 questions and should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete.

New guidance on using AI in your work

We have published new guidance that sets out the regulatory, ethical and practical considerations Costs Lawyers should take into account when considering whether, and how, to use AI in their work.

CLSB research into how Costs Lawyers are using technology found that there is potential for AI to play a bigger role in automating routine tasks, eliminating manual data entry, speeding up legal research and providing predictive insights. That research also found that concerns over regulatory compliance is a barrier to greater adoption of technology and AI.

We want to ensure that Costs Lawyers have a robust and clear framework for using technology in their work that does not create inadvertent barriers, and raise awareness of the regulatory risks of using technology. We also want to ensure that Costs Lawyers understand how they can ensure they are complying with their professional duties under the Code of Conduct, and their ethical duties, when it comes to using AI. The new guidance sets out what you should consider when deciding whether, and how, to use AI in your work.

We have published three new ethical scenarios to accompany the guidance, which can be found in the Ethics Hub.

Join our January 2026 roundtable on barriers to career entry and progression in Wales

We’re holding an online roundtable to understand what more we could do to support the profession in Wales. This roundtable will focus on barriers to entry, and barriers to career progression, faced by Costs Lawyers in Wales.

This is the first in a series of roundtables on this topic that we will be holding with Costs Lawyers around England and Wales to inform our diversity and inclusion strategy for the profession, with more events to follow later in the new year.

This roundtable will take place online on Thursday 15 January 2026 from 2:00pm to 3:30pm.

If you would like to attend, please email Lori Frecker, Director of Policy, [email protected] by Thursday 18 December.

Legal Ombudsman’s draft 2026/27 Business Plan and Budget

The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) has published the Legal Ombudsman’s draft 2026/27 Business Plan and Budget, marking the final year of its 2024-27 Strategy. The CLSB contributes to their costs which is funded by your practising certificate fee.

The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) reports “unprecedented numbers of complaints from people unhappy with the legal service they have received and unable to resolve matters with their provider.” To meet this challenge they are proposing a 12.1% increase in their budget.

Alongside the Business Plan, LeO has published its 2024/25 Annual Complaints Report and latest quarterly data.

The CLSB will consider these proposals as your regulator, however LeO is also seeking your feedback on the consultation via a formal response before the consultation deadline of midday on Tuesday 16 December 2025.

Festive period closure

As is customary, we will be closed from 22 December 2025 to 2 January 2026 inclusive for the holiday period, other than for urgent enquiries.

We will reopen on Monday 5 January 2026. During the office closure we will only respond to urgent matters such as a query or complaint that poses a serious and immediate risk to a client or the public. Non-urgent email and telephone messages, including enquiries relating to 2026 practising certificates, will be dealt with as soon as possible once the office reopens.

Spotlight on… Costs Lawyers, Consumers and Access to Justice

In this newsletter, Victoria Morrison-Hughes, Managing Director at Integral Legal Costs and Vice Chair of the Association of Costs Lawyers, lays down a challenge to the profession to support access to justice for litigants in person.

“Taking direct instructions is not a sideline. It is an essential component of our professional identity.”

Up and Coming…

Expect more from us shortly on:

New members of the CLSB Board
Launch of the communications toolkit

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