Legal Profession Act 2007

A client may apply to a costs assessor for an assessment of the whole or any part of legal costs.

A third party payer may apply to a costs assessor for an assessment of the whole or any part of legal costs payable by the third party payer.

An application for a costs assessment may be made even if the legal costs have been wholly or partly paid.

If any legal costs have been paid without a bill having been given, the client or third party payer may nevertheless apply for a costs assessment.

An application by a client or third party payer for a costs assessment under this section must be made within 60 days after – the bill was given or the request for payment was made to the client or third party payer; or the costs were paid if neither a bill was given nor a request was made.

However, an application that is made out of time, otherwise than by – a sophisticated client; or a third party payer who would be a sophisticated client if the third party payer were a client of the law practice concerned – may be dealt with by the costs assessor if the Supreme Court, on application by the costs assessor or the client or third party payer who made the application for assessment, determines, after having regard to the delay and the reasons for the delay, that it is just and fair for the application for assessment to be dealt with after the 60-day period.

If the third party payer is a non-associated third party payer, the law practice must provide the third party payer, on the written request of the third party payer, with sufficient information to allow the third party payer to consider making, and if thought fit to make, an application for a costs assessment under this section.

If there is an associated third party payer for a client of a law practice – nothing in this section prevents – the client from making one or more applications for assessment under this section in relation to costs for which the client is solely liable; and the associated third party payer from making one or more applications for assessment under this section in relation to costs for which the associated third party payer is solely liable – and those applications may be made by them at the same time or at different times and may be dealt with jointly or separately; and the client or the associated third party payer – may participate in the costs assessment process where the other of them makes an application for assessment under this section in relation to costs for which they are both liable; and is taken to be a party to the assessment and is bound by the assessment; and the law practice – must participate in the costs assessment process where an application is made under this section by the associated third party payer in the same way as the practice must participate in the process where an application is made under this section by a client; and is taken to be a party to the assessment and is bound by the assessment.

If there is a non-associated third party payer for a client of a law practice – nothing in this section prevents – the client from making one or more applications for assessment under this section in relation to costs for which the client is liable; and the non-associated third party payer from making one or more applications for assessment under this section in relation to costs for which the non-associated third party payer is liable – and those applications may be made by them at the same time or at different times but must be dealt with separately; and the client – may participate in the costs assessment process where the non-associated third party payer makes an application under this section in relation to the legal costs for which the non-associated third party payer is liable; and is taken to be a party to the assessment and is bound by the assessment; and the law practice – is taken to be a party to the assessment; and must participate in the costs assessment process; and despite any other provision of this Division, the assessment of the costs payable by the non-associated third party payer does not affect the amount of legal costs payable by the client to the law practice.

In this section – client includes the following:an executor or administrator of a client; a trustee of the estate of a client; third party payer includes the following:an executor or administrator of a third party payer; a trustee of the estate of a third party payer.