Articles
The Legal Costs Horror Show: Five Things That Make Costs Draftsmen Shudder
Friday 10th July 2026
Legal costs work is not usually associated with horror.
There are no creaking doors, no haunted houses and, thankfully, no chainsaws (most of the time). But there are some things that can make even the most experienced costs draftsman sit back, take a deep breath and wonder what happened to the file.
Here are five of the biggest frighteners.
1. “We need the bill tomorrow”
Nothing sends a chill down the spine quite like an urgent request for a detailed bill on a file that has taken three years to conclude.
The work may be recoverable, the case may have gone well, and the client may be delighted. But if the file has not been maintained properly, the costs process becomes much harder than it needs to be.
Costs should never be an afterthought.
A worse one is an urgent budget! Once you get the Order for the CCMC, get your draftsman involved. 2 days notice before the due date is not enough time. Although, increasingly, we are seeing the Court provide Orders where the budget would need to be filed and served within 2-5 days.
2. Mysterious missing documents
Few things cause more concern than a funding arrangement that cannot be found, attendance notes that cannot be found or elements that appear incomplete, or do not appear to match the work claimed.
CFAs, retainers, client care letters, ATE policies, BTE enquiries, updates, attendance notes and recorded time all matter.
If the paperwork is missing, a bill cannot be prepared or served.
3. Attendance notes from another dimension
“Telephone call with client — 1 hour.” Helpful? Not really.
Good file notes can make a real difference. They explain what was done, why it was necessary and how it moved the case forward.
Poor notes leave everyone guessing, including the person trying to justify the costs later.
4. The budget nobody looked at again
A costs budget is not something to be filed away and forgotten.
If the case changes, the budget may need to be reviewed. If the work increases, the budget may need to be varied. If nobody checks it until the end, it may already be too late.
That is when the horror music starts.
5. “It should be straightforward”
These words are often followed by a file with multiple defendants, amended pleadings, expert issues, Part 36 offers, interim applications, funding complications and a costs budget that does not quite line up with reality.
In legal costs, “straightforward” is sometimes the most frightening word of all.
The serious point
Most costs problems do not appear out of nowhere.
They usually come from issues that could have been spotted earlier: missing documents, poor time recording, lack of funding checks, budget problems or leaving costs until the end of the case.
The good news is that these problems are avoidable.
At Smart Costs, we help firms deal with costs properly, whether that means preparing bills, budgets, points of dispute, replies or helping with negotiations.
Because the scariest thing about legal costs is not the assessment. It is realising too late that the recovery could have been better protected from the start.
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Legal Costs - A Smarter Way