Criminal Costs

 As a solicitor, the costs involved in criminal litigation are, of course, of paramount importance to you and your clients. Our barristers can offer transparent, experienced advice on all criminal costs issues, including costs disputes.

25 Bedford Row barristers have vast experience of Criminal fee regimes particularly relating to the Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS) and the Litigators' Graduated Fee Scheme (LGFS).

We are renowned for our expertise in all aspects of criminal defence billing, with detailed knowledge of Legal Aid Agency (LAA) provisions as well as all of the statutory instruments in relation to the various schemes of AGFS and LGFS.

To discuss your requirements, please contact our fees clerk David Kirton.

Our criminal costs expertise

• Appeals by parties awarded costs out of Central Funds (Costs in Criminal Cases (General) Regulations 1986 as amended by The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012).
• Appeals by solicitors and advocates entitled to remuneration under the Criminal Procedure Rules.
• Appeals by litigants in person having the benefit of costs orders under any of the above enactments.
• Appeals by solicitors and advocates entitled to remuneration under the Criminal Defence Service (Funding) Order 2007 and the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 (both as amended), which contain the Advocates’ and Litigators’ Graduated Fee Schemes: fee redeterminations, written reasons and appeal cases to Costs Judges in Senior Courts Costs Office matters.
• LAA Determining officers’ decisions on PPE page count, case transfers, special and wasted preparation, type of trial (retrial, cracked trial, 2nd trial, Newton hearing), case category.
• Divisional court/administrative court central funds assessments
• Defendant’s costs orders comprising:
  1. Defendant’s personal costs (e.g. travel expenses)
  2. Lawyer’s fees (legal costs), and
  3. Disbursements (legal costs)

• Defendant’s costs orders provided for under sections 16 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985.
• For proceedings that commenced on or after 1 October 2012 legal costs (which comprise the fees of litigator, advocate and any disbursements) are recoverable only as part of a defendant’s costs order in the following proceedings:
  1. Proceedings in a magistrates’ court (including when those proceedings were in a court below the court making the order) (see Section 16(1) POA 1985).
  2. In the crown court on appeal against conviction and/or sentence from the magistrates’ court (s 108 Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980) (see Section 16(3) POA 1985).
  3. With effect from 27th January 2014, a defendant’s costs order can be made for proceedings on indictment in the crown court if the defendant is ineligible for crown court legal aid due to an assessment of their means. It is important to note that before any costs can be recovered, an application for representation must have been made and refused, as evidence of that assessment is a pre-requisite to costs recovery (s16A(5A)
  4. Where the Court of Appeal allows an appeal under Part I of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 against (a) a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity, (b) a finding under the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964 that the appellant is under a disability, or that he did the act or made the omission charged against him, or (c) allows, to any extent, an appeal under section 16A of that Act (appeal against order made in cases of insanity or unfitness to plead) ((see Section 16(4)(a)(ii), (iii) and (d) POA 1985).
  5. Proceedings in the Supreme Court.
• Recovery of Defence Costs Orders under The Criminal Legal Aid (Recovery of Defence Costs Orders) Regulations 2013

Get in touch to discuss how we can help your clients with criminal defence billing

For immediate assistance, please contact our fees clerk David Kirton.