Newsletter – November 2024

From the CEO

Earlier this year we launched the Ethics Hub to help you navigate common ethical challenges in your professional life. The Ethics Hub brings the new Costs Lawyer Code of Conduct to life in a practical way and new content is being added all the time.

When we introduced the new Code of Conduct in April this year, we asked our Advisory Panel of Costs Lawyers what kind of additional ethics resources they would find valuable. The top choice was the publication of “ethical scenarios”, sometimes known as ethical dilemmas, to help practitioners navigate common ethical challenges they might encounter in their working life. Based on this feedback, we created a series of ethical scenarios for the Ethics Hub. These cover areas such as:

  • you are asked to handle your client’s money
  • you notice signs of possible economic crime
  • your client asks you to do something unprofessional
  • the interests of your clients conflict with each other
  • the person you’re supervising does something wrong
  • your instructing solicitor makes an error

While the ethical scenarios are hypothetical, they are based on real-world enquiries and complaints received by the CLSB in recent years.

The Ethics Hub also houses new resources relating to professional ethics and conduct. Advice in the Ethics Hub covers topics such as:

  • reporting ethical issues
  • economic crime
  • balancing the interests of your ultimate client and your professional client
  • managing risks to your clients
  • ethical duties when presenting information to the court

This month, we published new advice on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), tackling bullying and harassment and addressing pay gaps in your workplace.

We encourage all Costs Lawyers to use the resources in the Ethics Hub. You can also contact us if you need individual guidance.

Kate Wellington

CEO

Regulatory News

Have you renewed your practising certificate for 2025?

Last week you should have received an email containing a link to your personalised practising certificate renewal form. If you didn’t, please let us know straight away. The deadline for applications is 30 November.

If you have any questions about renewing your practising certificate, there are helpful FAQs on our website, or you can contact us at any time.

CLSB Chief Executive steps down

After more than five years in post, Kate Wellington will be stepping down as CEO of the CLSB in the new year to take up a role as CEO of the Law Society of Western Australia. Under Kate’s leadership, the CLSB has transformed from being the poorest performing legal regulator in 2019 to being the joint highest performing legal regulator in 2024, as assessed by the Legal Services Board. Recruitment for her successor is underway.

Rt Hon David Heath CBE, Chair of the CLSB board, said: “Kate has done a superb job both for the CLSB and for the profession as a whole. Through her dedication and tenacity over the last five years she has turned the CLSB into a modern, innovative regulator, and won the respect and admiration of all who have had the pleasure of working with her. Kate leaves the CLSB with an excellent foundation for her successor to pursue our vision and strategy for the future. We thank her for everything she has achieved with the CLSB, and wish her every success in her new role.”

New report: Costs Lawyers, technology and regulation

We recently published a research report on Costs Lawyers, technology and regulation, prepared for the CLSB by consultancy Hook Tangaza. The report makes 15 recommendations and identifies 8 priority actions for the CLSB to help Costs Lawyers increase their take-up of AI and other new technologies, and we will be taking these forward in the new year.

Technology and AI are key strands of our wider work looking at how the regulation of Costs Lawyers should evolve into the future. We want to ensure Costs Lawyers have a robust and clear framework for using technology in their work that does not create inadvertent barriers.

New resources on EDI, bullying and harassment, and whistleblowing

Our Ethics Hub contains new resources for Costs Lawyers on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), tackling bullying and harassment and whistleblowing. These resources are designed to help you meet your obligations in the workplace, whether you are an employee, manager or business owner.

The resources provide advice on what we expect from you as a Costs Lawyer and how you can help promote EDI within the profession. Tackling bullying and harassment is a big part of creating an inclusive professional culture, and our resources will help you address bullying and harassment that is happening to you or that you witness happening to a colleague.

Enrolment window open for February 2025 CLPQ in-take

ACL Training is now accepting applications to commence the Costs Lawyer Professional Qualification in 2025. Information about the qualification and how to apply can be found here. Please share these details with any colleagues who might be interested.

CLSB holds roundtable on costs in Wales

The CLSB, in collaboration with the Welsh Government and ACL, held an online roundtable with Costs Lawyers to discuss the legal landscape in Wales in October.

It was a positive and useful meeting with Costs Lawyers from a range of locations and practice areas. Topics discussed included how to address unmet legal need in Wales, promoting the Costs Lawyer profession in Wales, and cross-border working between Wales and England.

The roundtable is part of the CLSB’s ongoing work to gain a deeper understanding of the regulated costs landscape in Wales. It is hoped that the roundtable will be the start of a series of discussions looking at opportunities and barriers for Costs Lawyers practising in Wales with the aim of identifying areas where the CLSB, ACL and Welsh Government could collaborate to support the regulated costs profession in Wales. Please do get in touch if you would like to contribute.

Spotlight on… legal costs and AI

In this newsletter, we turn our spotlight on the risks and opportunities of AI in legal costs. Simon Murray, Head of Insurance Business Services at DWF Law LLP, looks at some of the challenges around AI ethics, governance and regulation.

“Whilst there are myriad different challenges to ensuring responsible use of AI, if used mindfully and with the appropriate guardrails, it promises a boom in legal productivity, providing access to legal services to a number of currently underserviced markets. It has the potential to make getting legal advice cheaper, better and quicker. As a result, the move to AI-enabled law is in my opinion irresistible and so we need to prepare the ground to make sure that governance in our sector is ready for this paradigmatic shift.”

Read More

Up and Coming…

Expect more from us shortly on:

  • New resources for addressing pay gaps in your workplace
  • Guidance for costs law firms that are not regulated by the SRA
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