A Costs Agreement and Disclosure Statement is the initial documentation that a client will receive from law practice.
It is advisable to peruse the documentation carefully prior to executing and returning it to your solicitor. The said documentation governs how professional fees will be calculated for the work done, and when/if the disbursements incurred by the lawyer will be payable by the client.
A Cost Disclosure is to be enclosed in the Costs agreement by every law practice. The law practice must disclose details of its costs to you in writing before commencing any work for you. If you have a matter that requires urgent attention, then the law practice must disclose details of its costs to you as soon as is practicable.
There are different types of Costs Agreements. The most common types are the following;
1. Costs Agreement which provides for costs to be paid on a ‘time costing’ basis, that is, by setting out hourly rates which will apply by reference to the time taken to perform work on your matter.
2. A Fixed Fee agreement, which sets out a fixed amount for carrying out the work described in the agreement (which may be for a stage of the matter or for the whole of the matter).
3. No win- No Fee agreement, also known as Conditional costs agreement, which provides that the payment of some or all of the legal costs is conditional upon the successful outcome of the matter to which the costs relate.
In New South Wales, Costs Agreements and Disclosure Statements issued by lawyers are governed by the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014, Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Regulations 2015 and the Legal Profession Uniform General Rules 2015. 42553
A few of the rights you have and that must be disclosed in your costs agreement are as follows;
1. Negotiate the costs agreement with your law practice;
2. To receive a bill of costs from your law practice;
3. To request an itemised bill of costs after you receive a lump sum bill from your law practice;
4. To negotiate the billing method with your law practice;
5. To request from your lawyer written reports about the progress of your matter and the costs incurred in your matter;
6. To apply for costs to be assessed within 12 months if you are unhappy with the costs;
7. To seek the assistance of the designated local regulatory authority in the event of a dispute about legal costs;
8. To accept or reject any offer the law practice makes for an interstate costs law to apply to your matter.
Kindly ensure that the Costs and Disclosure Agreement is thoroughly perused and understood and if you have any issues please do not hesitate to contact our offices via telephone on 02 8917 8700.