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Empowering beneficiaries to challenge costs: The Kenig v. Thomson Snell & Passmore case
Michael Tyler
Top-ranked in Chambers UK and Legal 500, we offer costs litigation services to multiple practice areas such as Dispute Resolution, High Net Worth Divorce, Public law, Sports Law, Media & Privacy, Serious Injury & The Court of Protection. We also offer services relating to Insurance Costs Auditing & Solicitors Act Assessments.
Our highly ranked team advise both businesses and private individuals including high net worth individuals, insurance companies, corporates and other firms of solicitors.
The team are recognised for their work in relation to Media, Privacy and International Arbitrations.
How we work with you
As a company or individual in charge of a significant legal spend, we are able to make sure your legal fees are being charged correctly and fairly. We are also able to offer a conduit between you and your solicitor in difficult moments to ensure that due process is followed and that your rights are upheld.
Similarly, if you are in the costs recovery process as a paying or receiving party we have a right to conduct the costs litigation and ensure that you are represented with skill, efficiency and transparency.
Multi-disciplinary Costs & Litigation Management expertise
The Kingsley Napley Costs & Litigation Management team have experience in multiple disciplines and are not just experts in costs disputes arising from personal injury like many of our competitors.
As well as having qualified Costs Lawyers within our ranks we also have qualified Legal Project Practitioners who are able scope, estimate and monitor the progress and spend of a piece of litigation.
We have acted for non-ministerial government departments as well as national regulatory authorities.
The team is led by Michael Tyler who is ranked in the Legal 500 as a next generation partner and the team are ranked in Chambers & Partners under the category of Litigation Support.
WHAT CLIENTS AND DIRECTORIES HAVE SAID
A really excellent team, highly respected in the field, very commercial and forward-thinking.’
The Legal 500, 2025
The costs team at Kingsley Napley invest in their own continuous professional development, with the emphasis on looking for new ways to service existing and new clients.'
The Legal 500, 2025
The lawyers in Kingsley Napley costs team are experts in the field of costs. The advice provided is always practical and sensible even where the costs position is not straightforward."
Chambers and Partners, Litigation Support, 2024
They make knotty costs issues very straightforward. That's only possible by being across all of the detail in the costs area."
Chambers and Partners, Litigation Support, 2024
Michael Tyler is excellent. He and his team guide us through the costs rules and requirements with confidence. They are a real asset to have on the team for any litigation."
Chambers and Partners, Litigation Support, 2024
Dale Gibbons
Legal Director (Costs)
Charlotte Ioannou
Senior Associate
Daphne Pui Wai U
Associate (CILEx Lawyer)
Holly Shaw
Associate
Dean Robertson
Costs Draftperson
Latest blogs and news
Empowering beneficiaries to challenge costs: The Kenig v. Thomson Snell & Passmore case
Last month, The Court of Appeal delivered an important costs judgement which has the potential to significantly impact how beneficiaries can challenge solicitors’ fees in contentious trusts, probate, private wealth and estate proceedings.
Once upon a time in the Supreme Court
Michael Tyler discusses the decision of the UK Supreme Court in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) (Appellants) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others (Respondents) [2023] UKSC 28
It’s a fix! The Fixed Recoverable Costs regime and the impact on professional negligence claims
The 1 October 2023 saw the Fixed Recoverable Costs (“FRC”) regime extend beyond personal injury claims in the fast track to almost every area of civil litigation, including professional negligence, and sees the introduction of a new Intermediate Track.
We address in this article, the impact of the FRC regime on Professional Negligence claims, and how this affects the recoverability of costs.
Make 2023 the year hourly rates are recovered in full
Much has been said about the Guideline Hourly Rates (GHR) following Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd v LG Display Co. Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 466 and Athena Capital Fund v Secretariat of State for the Holy See [2022] EWCA Civ 1061. Paying parties rely on them and Judges at summary assessment feel bound to follow them, despite the potential damage they could do to the profession’s reputation in London given how the GHR compare to the market. However, there are positives and lessons to learn from these decisions.
Novak needs a Cost Expert: Costs in Appeal Hearings Explored
Being an avid tennis fan, in the small hours of 16th January 2022, I checked my phone to see if Novak Djokovic was going to be able to compete for his 21st Grand Slam title (surpassing Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal as the most decorated male tennis player in Grand Slam history) or whether his appeal would in fact be rejected leading to his deportation.
Claimants given costs boost in inheritance disputes – Hirachand v Hirachand
The Court of Appeal has recently handed down its judgment in the case of Hirachand v Hirachand, concerning an appeal against an order made in May 2020 in proceedings brought by Sheila Hirachand for provision from the estate of Navinchandra Hirachand, her late father, under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (“the 1975 Act”).
Discounted CFAs – how do they work and are they too good to be true?
When both client and solicitor have equal skin in the game it can create a harmony that other funding methods cannot reproduce.
Could litigation funding be available for my claim?
We understand that litigation can be expensive and clients are sometimes anxious by how much it may cost to resolve their dispute. This is why we offer our clients a number of different funding options to suit their needs.
Are DBAs viable for funding commercial litigation?
A Damages-based Agreement (DBA), as stated in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Damages- Based Agreements Regulations 2013, is a “private funding agreement between a representative and a client whereby the representative’s agreed fee (‘the payment’) is contingent upon the success of the case, and is determined as a percentage of the compensation received by the client.”
Funding defamation and privacy proceedings – are there still options?
We are now a year on from the abolishment of the recovery of success fees in Defamation and Privacy proceedings, which brought these distinct areas of law into line with the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in MGN v UK.
Changing landscape for litigation funders - Arkin Cap lifted by Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal upheld a decision that the so-called ‘Arkin Cap’ is not a binding rule but ultimately at the Court’s discretion, in the recent case of ChapelGate Credit Opportunity Master Fund Ltd v Money & Ors.
Are ‘no win no fee’ arrangements suitable for inheritance claims under the 1975 Act?
When a client decides to pursue a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for reasonable financial provision, one of the first discussions between lawyer and client is how the claim will be funded.
