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Justice minister Helen McEntee has announced the appointment of the new chief legal costs adjudicator, Mr Barry Magee, who takes over this role from his predecessor Mr Paul Behan, upon his retirement. Mr Magee has been an adjudicator with the Office of Legal Costs Adjudicators since 2020 and is joined by recently appointed legal costs adjudicator, Mr Stephen Boggs. It is anticipated that a third adjudicator will be appointed in due course.

This handbook is currently being updated in line with changes in 2024 that have occurred in this ever evolving area of Irish law. Legal practitioners may email [email protected] to receive a copy in January 2025.

In June 2024 Mr Stephen Boggs BL was announced as the state’s new Legal Costs Adjudicator. Mr Boggs’ appointment as one of three Legal Costs Adjudicators within the Office of Legal Costs Adjudicators as provided for by the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015. Formerly known as the Taxing Master’s office, there were only two taxing officers in situ, pursuant to existing statute at the time. However, now further appointments may be made to this office should the need arise.

Mr Paul Behan was appointed Taxing Master of the High Court in 2017 and was later appointed Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator with the commencement of the Legal Services Regulation Act in 2019. Mr Behan has the distinction of being the state’s last Taxing Master, a long and historic office, and indeed he is the first Legal Costs Adjudicator. The changes to this area of Irish law were seismic and required a person of great experience at the helm. We wish Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator Behan all the very best on his impending retirement.

22nd Sep 2024: Pursuant to section 154 (5) of the Legal Services Act 2015, where a detailed bill of costs (drawn pursuant to section 152 of the 2015 Act) has been served upon a client by a legal practitioner and that bill remains unpaid on the expiry of thirty days, the legal practitioner may apply to the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator for that bill to be adjudicated. Such application must be made within twelve months from the date of service of the bill. The above mentioned thirty-day period may be abridged, where it appears just to do so, by way of ex parte application [...]

16th March 2022 This booklet which has been in circulation since 2008 has been once again updated to take into account the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 and the Rules of the Superior Courts (Costs) 2019.  Both the 2015 Act and the 2019 Rules were enacted respectively in October and December 2019.  There have been sweeping changes across this area of the law and the booklet deals with the more significant aspects thereof when it comes to legal costs.   Legal practitioners may apply for a copy of this booklet by emailing [email protected] and the table of contents may be [...]