The Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL) has welcomed 108 students to its three-year training course this year.
This latest intake is the second cohort to the Association’s revamped training regime, which has been approved by the Legal Services Board, and is designed to ensure that the next generation of costs specialists are up to the demands of the post-Jackson era.
The cohort comprises a mixture of law and non-law graduates, demonstrating that the course provides a credible first choice for those interested in pursuing a legal career with associated rights to conduct reserved legal activities.
Almost all (95%) of this year’s new students are sponsored by their employer. Irwin Mitchell is enrolling 13 staff members on the course, while one of the UK’s largest costs practices, Kain Knight, is supporting nine of its staff. NWL Costs Lawyers is continuing its expansion and maintaining its commitment to the ACL by enrolling six students this year, the same as Compass Law and Lawlords Costs Consultants.
Michael Kain, Chairman of Kain Knight, says: “All our staff undertake the ACL’s professional training. Combined with ‘on the job’ experience, the qualification ensures all Kain Knight Costs Lawyer trainees are the best they can be in the post-Jackson era.”
Sue Nash, chairman of ACL, says: “Despite the changing nature of the costs world, the profession of Costs Lawyer is a positive, long-term career choice. I am delighted to see demand for places remains high and that so many employers are investing in the profession by sponsoring students to undertake the course.
“The profession has developed greatly in recent times and Costs Lawyers will, I believe, become an integral part of litigation teams in the near future, working with solicitors and barristers to progress proceedings in an efficient and proportionate manner.”
Students take three units, one each year, broken down into various modules. The first two years of the course cover all the fundamental building blocks to become a Costs Lawyer – from knowledge of law and procedure to ethics and advocacy – while in the third year there are options to allow for specialisation in the costs of different areas of practice, such as personal injury and clinical negligence, land law, criminal law, company law, and family law.
After a break of one year during the 2013/14 academic year, the newly launched course welcomed a double intake of 185 students last year. There are currently 616 authorised Costs Lawyers.
For further information, please contact:
Kerry Jack
Black Letter Communications
Tel: 020 3567 1208
Email kerry.jack@blackletterpr.co.uk
Notes to editors:
Association of Costs Lawyers
The Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL) is a membership body representing and promoting the status and interests of Cost Lawyers in England and Wales. Founded in 1977, the Association was granted authorised body status in 2007 and is a front-line regulator, able to authorise its members to undertake the reserved legal activities of litigation and advocacy. In recognition of this new-found status, ACL changed its name from the Association of Law Costs Draftsmen in 2011. Costs Lawyers are regulated by the Costs Lawyer Standards Board. www.costslawyer.co.uk
The term ‘costs draftsman’ denotes an unregulated and unqualified person operating in costs and those who instruct costs draftsmen have no recourse to either the Legal Ombudsman or the Costs Lawyer Standards Board.