Newsletter – September 2025

From the CEO

This is my second newsletter since joining the CLSB as CEO in May this year and it’s been a busy few months with the Practising Certificate Fee consultation, amongst other things. Thank you to all Costs Lawyers who took the time to respond to the consultation which is now with the Legal Services Board (LSB) for its consideration. Over 99% of those who responded agreed with our budget and business plan proposals.

Join the CLSB Board

We have an exciting opportunity for a Costs Lawyer to join the CLSB Board and shape our strategy and the future regulation of the profession.

We’re seeking two non-executive directors (NEDs), one lay and one non-lay, who can commit to and uphold the CLSB’s values, and help shape our strategy and the future regulation of the profession.

Outgoing Board member, Paul McCarthy, has written a fantastic spotlight piece in this edition of the newsletter. I’d encourage you to read his witty reflection on his 7 years on the CLSB Board. Thank you Paul, you are going to be missed!

The CLSB Board meets four times a year and we offer remuneration of £422 per day plus reasonable expenses. The term for the non-lay role starts in December 2025, with the lay role starting in January 2026.

Maybe this would be your first NED role, or maybe you’re an experienced NED? Either way, we want  to hear from you if you’d like to make a difference in a unique and specialist legal field with a model legal regulator. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and lived experiences.

If you know of anyone who may be interested in this fantastic opportunity, please share with your networks. Should you or someone you know wish to arrange an informal discussion about the role, please email me – [email protected].

The closing date is 15 October 2025. Full details are available on our website.

Our next newsletter will be after the ACL’s November London conference, where I’m hoping to meet as many of you as possible. If you see me, please feel free to say hello and share your views.

Paul Mosson

CEO

Regulatory News

Helping you stand out from the unregulated costs advice sector

Later this year we will launch a toolkit to help you communicate the value of Costs Lawyers to clients and others.

The CLSB has been busy developing a new approach to raising awareness of the benefits of using regulated Costs Lawyers to those who procure your services, while reinforcing the consumer protection regulation affords clients.

We believe more can be done to showcase the highly specialised skills that Costs Lawyers offer to the wider legal sector. To help achieve that, we plan to release a mini-toolkit of assets and messages later this year. Before the launch, we’d welcome the opportunity to test drive concepts with willing members of the profession to maximise their impact. If you’d be willing to be involved with this, please email [email protected].

Renewal of practising certificates for 2026

In early November we plan to send you your application form for renewing your practising certificate for 2026. The deadline for applications, including payment, is 30 November 2025. Once again if you work in a costs law firm evidence of PI insurance and a copy of the organisation’s complaints procedure can be submitted in advance of the renewal period on behalf of all Costs Lawyers in the organisation. Invitations to submit these documents will be sent to all those who did so last year. If your firm did not submit these documents in advance last year, but would like to do so now, please email [email protected] by Friday 10 October with the email of your nominated contact person.

You can start preparing to renew your practising certificate now by ensuring you have all the information you need to hand, including information about your CPD activities in 2025, both completed, and planned by the end of the year. If you have not been practising for a full year then, in line with the CPD Rules, you should have a minimum of 1 CPD point for each full month worked.

You can find the answers to many FAQs on our Practising certificates webpage.

 

Reasonable adjustments

The CLSB has updated its reasonable adjustments policy for the disciplinary process to ensure it is inclusive.

Last month we updated our reasonable adjustments policy in relation to our disciplinary process to ensure that our process and procedures are truly inclusive. You can read the new policy here, and we’d welcome any further feedback you may have.

Role models

Would you be willing to be the face of Costs Lawyers to aspiring legal professionals?

One of the CLSB’s strategic goals is to promote Costs Lawyers as a career to aspiring legal professionals. To help achieve that, we are seeking Costs Lawyers who would enjoy speaking to budding legal professionals in their local area about their own journey to being a Costs Lawyer and why they feel it’s a rewarding career. If you’d be interested in learning more about this, please email [email protected].

Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) survey

Let us know your views on the level, cost and availability of the PII cover we require of all Costs Lawyers.

We want to know how you find securing your PII each year, including whether the level of minimum protection covers your risk, any barriers you’ve faced in obtaining cover, and your experience with the costs of the policy. PII is a key part of client protection and there is no intention to reduce or remove the requirement. If you would be willing to share your views, please click here to complete the survey.

MoJ AI Action plan

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) have recently published their AI action plan for justice, which sets out the government’s approach to responsible and proportionate AI adoption across the legal and justice sectors.

All Costs Lawyers should read this document and reflect on its implications for the future of costs law and practice.

CPD for Costs Lawyers working in legal aid

We are aware that the outage of the Legal Aid Agency’s Client and Case Management System earlier in the year has had a significant impact on Costs Lawyers working in this area. CPD plans for the year that had relied on the LAA webinars that have not been available may have had to be adapted.

If you are still looking for ways to make up your CPD requirements for the year you can consider:

  • Undertaking some relevant research and reading, over and above your usual caseload.
  • Courses on family law from other providers. Online providers such as MBL and Datalaw have a wide range of training materials available.
  • The ACL annual conference is in London in November, providing a wide range of relevant and topical sessions, including a breakout session on legal aid.
  • Some training on areas of wider professional practice might also be relevant. Our CPD webpage has a short list of some free options.

Once you’ve explored all these options, if you are still unable to complete 12 hours of relevant CPD activity then under the CPD Rules we may be able to to waive some of the CPD requirements if you can evidence “exceptional circumstances”. To consider this we’d need to look at the CPD plans/objectives you set at the start of the year to understand why the unavailability of the LAA webinars means that it is not possible for you to achieve the minimum 12 CPD points.

Recite Me / website accessibility

You can now access a customisable toolbar on our website provided by Recite Me to read and understand content in a way that suits your needs.

The accessibility features include:

  • Screen reader
  • Multiple reading aids
  • Styling options 
  • Live translation to multiple languages including Welsh, some of which are text-to-speech. 

Try out the toolbar by clicking on the accessibility icon in the bottom left corner of each webpage.

Association of Costs Lawyers business plan

The ACL launched their new business plan at the beginning of September, setting out plans to build on the increase in membership numbers, visibility and influence across the costs sector and the wider legal profession seen over the last three years.

The Association’s priorities include having Costs Lawyers recognised as grade A fee-earners in the guideline hourly rates and eligible for judicial appointments, as well as working towards applying for chartered status. There are also plans for a new special interest groups on group litigation, as well as flexible and focused learning opportunities that help individuals gain specific skills or knowledge, as well as recognition of the need to engage with younger professionals.

For more information see the ACL website.

Spotlight on… You, me and the CLSB: 7 years, several lessons and a few pub chats

In this newsletter, as his term of office comes to an end, Paul McCarthy, Partner & Head of Costs at Horwich Farrelly, reflects on the last seven years as non-executive Director on the CLSB Board.

“Serving on the CLSB board has been one of the most rewarding chapters of my career. It has challenged me, taught me and connected me with great people who care about our profession. If you’re a Costs Lawyer who’s curious about how the profession is shaped, who wants to learn, to contribute, and to help lift standards and reputation then I’d encourage you to apply….”

Read More

Up and Coming…

Expect more from us shortly on:

  • New Mark of Regulation and communications toolkit
  • Practising certificate renewals for 2026
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