Precedent H & Costs Budgeting - Key Issues for Litigators

Introduction

Costs budgeting and costs management are here to stay. Indeed, the new cost budgeting pilot schemes introduced in April 2025 only cement the ongoing intention the budgeting should now be central to the cost management of cases, recognising that one size does not fit all!

The Civil Justice Council’s review of litigation funding in June 2025 further underlines the intention for cost budgeting being extended further.

This webinar will focus on the financial implications of the key decisions that need to be made when deciding on the information you provide and the resources applied to any litigation matter. Technical compliance is very much process driven, yet not enough thought is ever given to the financial impact and therefore the profitability of how a litigation matter is actually going to be run and the benefits of a project management approach to the cost budgeting process.

This webinar is delivered by Richard Allen, who has over 40 years’ experience as a litigation fee-earner, costs lawyer, and law firm partner and is an expert in pricing, project management, and process improvement. Richard will give you all the insights you need to maximise both your performance and profitability in a cost budgeted case.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

• The framework within which costs budgeting is undertaken and understanding why the wider application of costs budgeting principles and costs management are vital as the starting point to any litigation matter
• Why the process by which we arrive at profitability is key and how this dovetails with the budgeting and costs management process
• That investing time at the outset, often far beyond what you think is needed, produces a return on investment which makes this time spent priceless
• How resourcing and project management are inextricably linked to the whole process in order to achieve success and greater profitability
• Understanding that solicitors are supposed to have project management skills in accordance with Section D of the SRA Statement of Solicitor Competence, what those skills are, and key project management tactics to employ in daily practice
• The inescapable importance of your gross profit margin
• The key up-to-date case law that you need to know that can affect profitability
• How adopting pricing options beyond a simple hourly rate can yield far greater returns and result in a happier client, when considered alongside a cost budgeted case
• Key metrics to use in understanding what success looks like

This pre-recorded webinar will be available to view from Tuesday 27th October 2026

Alternatively, you can gain access to this webinar and 2,400+ others via the MBL Webinar Subscription. Please email webinarsubscription@mblseminars.com for more details.