News

7th January 2022: The Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators has issued a practice direction, due to the significant increase of the Covid 19 Omicron Variant. The default position is to hear all adjudications where possible by way of a remote hearing.  Any cases which are unsuitable for a remote hearing will be heard by way of a physical hearing.  Such cases considered unsuitable, may involve witnesses at the hearing or such matters that could not be conducted fairly by way of a remote hearing.

12th November 2020: In October 2020, the Minister for Justice and Equality appointed Mr. Barry Magee to the position of Legal Costs Adjudicator.  Mr. Magee’s appointment comes a year after the appointment of Mr. Paul Behan as the State’s first Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator and Dr. Niall O’Hanlon as Legal Costs Adjudicator, following the commencement of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015.  This is the first time, certainly in living memory, that the State has appointed three Legal Costs Adjudicators, (formally known as Taxing Masters).  

SI No. 584/2019 The Minister for Justice and Equality, Mr Charles Flanagan commenced the above Statutory Instrument on 3rdDecember 2019.  Not only has this SI overhauled the Rules of the Superior Courts and in particular Order 99, it has also made sweeping changes to Appendix W in terms of the Bill of Costs format and scheduled items. Formerly, the Bill of Costs was drawn pursuant to Order 99 and Appendix W in a seven-column format, which included a Solicitor’s General Instructions Fee, supported by a single detailed narrative or instruction statement. In the interest of transparency, a Bill of [...]

Legal Services Regulation Act, 2015 Since the retirement of Master Declan O’Neill in June 2019, Master Paul Behan was the sole Taxing Master operating within the State.  However, on 7thOctober 2019 the Minister for Justice and Equality, Mr Charles Flanagan formally commenced Part 10 of the Legal Services Regulation Act, 2015.  The commencement of this Act established the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators which takes over all functions of the Taxing Masters Office.  In addition, Mr Paul Behan was appointed Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator along with Dr Niall O’Hanlon as Legal Costs Adjudicator.  It is understood that a [...]

Under Section 2 of the Attorneys and Solicitors (Ireland) Act 1849, a Solicitor may lawfully issue proceedings against his or her former client for recovery of costs on the expiration of one calendar month. However, the client has a twelve month period in which he or she can seek and obtain Taxation of these costs. In the case of Doyle –v- Buckley, Mr Justice Charleton on 25th March 2013 held that “in order for a Bill to be valid, there must be compliance with the structures”. The “structures” is a reference to Order 99, Rule 29, Sub-Rule (5) (and [...]

The case of Isabelle Sheehan (an infant) –v- David Corr [2017] IESC 44 was a Personal Injuries Action which commenced in November 2009 and was compromised in October 2011 for €11.5 million plus costs to be taxed in default of agreement. The Plaintiff’s costs were taxed before The Taxing Master on 12thSeptember 2012. The Taxing Master’s Ruling issued on 7th September 2012. The Plaintiff brought formal written Objections to that Ruling on 27th November 2012 on the basis that the Solicitor’s general instructions fee had been incorrectly assessed. The Taxing Master heard objections over four days from September 2013 [...]