Our new confernece suite is now available for hire. We can accomodate groups of up to 12 people, ideal for small seminars, ’round-table’ meeitngs and negotiations. The room comes complete with video projection facilities and refeshements can be provided. Please contact us to discuss your requirments.
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Essential reading! Recommended books relating to the Legal Costs procedure, theory and practice.
Mail Carriers - our dedicated Courier Service
Department for Constitutional Affairs
Association of Law Costs Draftsmen
Law Society - Find a Solicitor
Office of Public Sector Information
Legal Junction - 100’s of Law & Legal websites listed - Solicitor, legal advice, lawyer & law links directory
Solicitors UK: A directory of Solicitors in the UK - Solicitors and Associated Links and Advice
UK Business Directory - Online directory for UK businesses and companies.
Welcome to our resources page. This page contains a whole range of useful forms and information in relation to Legal Costs for clients and professional colleagues and is being added to daily. Please feel free to download any item.
Please note that most items will require Adobe Acrobat
Useful Info -
CLS CLAIM forms -
Criminal Forms -
Court Forms
Precedents -
We are happy to arrange bespoke training courses for our clients on an in-house basis. In the past, we have provided the following training:
If you or your staff have a training need that needs addressing, we can probably help. Russell Gibbins, Jonathan Brennan & Marinus Clement are all accredited ALCD training providers and CPD points may be available.
Our specialist team can optimise your profit costs and assist in all aspect of recovery. In addition to drawing bills of costs in the first instance, our draftsmen can negotiate with the paying party, prepare replies to Point of Dispute and attend on the Detailed Assessment hearing if required.
If you are the paying party, we can also assist in advising upon the opponent’s bill of costs, negotiate on your behalf, draw Points in Dispute and attend on the Detailed Assessment hearing.
Disenfranchised when dealing with Defendant-based Cost Negotiators ?
Then why not try our specialist service?
Following settlement of your lay client’s damages claim simply forward your file of papers to us and we will undertake all of the associated hassles on your behalf. Your file will then be returned to you, usually within 25 days, incorporating a breakdown of the global settlement figure and schedule of recovered disbursements. Your cheque. should then follow within a further 14 days.
Based on an hourly rate of £95.00, our charges will not exceed 6% of the recovered figure for profit costs.
Benefits :
Contact Us:
Russell Gibbins (Partner) 01977 601424 - Email 
Paul Cookson (Partner) 01977 601423 - Email 
The Legal Services Commission have again altered their position with regard to the criteria for submission of Case Plans and the definition of a High Costs Case. In response to the Review by Lord Carter of Coles and the subsequent speech of the Lord Chancellor to the Law Society, the document ‘Legal Aid Reform: The Way Ahead’ was produced in November 2006. One recommendation of this publication, which has been acted upon immediately, is that all requests for increases to Public Funding Certificates above £25,000.00 will require a costed Case Plan.
However, help is at hand because we here at Gibbins are able to prepare High Costs Case Plans for you. Whether you require a fully costs Case Plan from scratch, or just a quantification of costs to date and a calculation of future costs, we can help. Because of our size, we have been able to departmentalise and have a dedicated team dealing solely with Child Care matters and we have extensive experience of drafting and drawing High Costs Case Plans.
Obviously, these are uncertain times for Solicitors involved in Publicly Funded matters, but whatever lies around the corner, you can be sure that Gibbins will be available to meet your costing needs. Why not put us to the test?
Contact Jonathan Brennan on 01977 781652 (direct dial)
Or by email:
As a specialist in Family and Child Care litigation, you will already know of the challenges facing the profession with regard to Public Funding. The growing disparity between ‘Legal Aid’ rates and the broad average direct cost is a particular concern. This is compounded by the recent increase in the LSC assessment limit, the growing significance of special contracts for High Cost Cases, and the possibility of removing publicly funded only cases from the Court Assessment process to be dealt with by inexperienced civil servants
However, help is at hand! As we have been established for nearly 30 years, and have grown to become one of the largest independent firms of Costs Draftsmen in the country, with over 25 costs draftsmen and women, we have been able to provide specialist departments. Our Family and Child Care team have an in-depth knowledge of relevant costs law and procedure and experience of the trends in relation to enhancement. Our expertise could ensure that you fully maximize your profitability!
Contact Jonathan Brennan for further details - 01977 781652 (direct dial)
Our specialist team can optimise your profit costs, advise and assist in respect of all aspect of criminal cases in both the Magistrates’ & Crown Courts.
Please contact David Ellam for more details:
Direct Dial: 01977 781657
…you will need the assurance that costs will be recovered on behalf of your client to the greatest extent possible. We are able to help, not only by accurately drawing the bill in the first instance, but by providing a full backup service. This includes preparation of replies to any points in dispute, negotiating a fair settlement and attending upon the Detailed Assessment hearing if necessary. We can provide this service in cases where the bill has been prepared by ourselves, where we will also advise you as to any items which we feel will not be recoverable.
We are also able to attended upon Detailed Assessment hearings in Legal Aid only matters where you may not be satisfied with the result of a provisional assessment of costs.
…you will want to save your client money and may be concerned about the level of costs claimed by the receiving party. Our knowledge of charging rates and costs law and procedure means that we are probably in the best position to assess what a matter is worth in terms of costs. When can prepare Points in Dispute, advise as to Part 47 offers in such cases and enter into negotiations on your behalf. Thereafter, we are also able to attend upon the Detailed Assessment hearing to oppose the receiving party’s bill if negotiations do not achieve a satisfactory result.
For further information contact
Marinus Clement on - 01977 781656 (direct dial)
Gibbins has been established for 27 years and is now one of the North’s largest independent firms supplying the profession with costs drafting and associated services.
Our team of over 20 draftsmen and women have the expertise to help you with the technical and practical problems encountered when drawing bills.
Our fees are usually 6% as drawn/recovered.
Large bills and high volume work open to negotiation.
Advocacy and consultancy work - fees from £80.00 per hour.
Bills drawn for delivery to clients, for summary and detailed assessments in all courts, family proceedings and child-care bills, criminal costs in Magistrates’ and Crown Courts including standard fees, CLS CLAIM 1 and Legal Help forms, bills to agree with insurance companies and other solicitors, comments upon opponents’ bills, Points of Dispute drafted and answered. Attendances on Detailed Assessment hearings.
Specialist Department dealing with quantification and negotiation of costs in RTA and PI litigation.
Bills lodged for detailed assessment hearings in London.
Telephone helpline for established clients.
Delivery and collection by Document Exchange and our own dedicated courier service. Special arrangements can be made for volume and urgent
Since its establishment in 1976, Gibbins has grown to become one of the North’s largest independent firms of Law Costs Draftsmen and Consultants, with over 30 staff, and now serves Solicitors and Legal Practitioners nationwide.
Our size means that our draftsmen specialise rather than compromise. We have been able to develop dedicated teams of experienced law costs draftsmen working in all aspects of legal costing including drawing bills of costs for Detailed and Summary Assessment together with schedules and detailed costs breakdowns. We negotiate settlements with the paying party or their representative and where necessary, attend upon Detailed Assessment appointments in all courts in matters of Civil Litigation, Family & Child-Care and Criminal cases. Specialisation results in attention to detail and in-depth knowledge.
We pride ourselves on accuracy, efficiency and quality of service backed up with an ethos of personal and friendly customer service.
Are you getting the most from your current Law Costs Draftsman? Why not put our expertise to work for you today and see the increase in your profitability and costs recovery?
Click on Gallery to see photographs of the team. Click on individual photographs to bring up an extended profile of the team member
5 Photos
16 Photos
Tel: 0870 224 2795
Fax: 0870 224 2796
info@gibbins.net
Freemans House
Liquorice Way
PONTEFRACT
West Yorkshire
WF8 1DN
DX: 22252
Direct Dials
We use MAIL Carriers for the majority of our delivery & pickups.
Gibbins was established in 1976 as ‘P A Gibbins & Co’ when Peter Gibbins, a former Solicitor’s Managing Clerk, set up the business from his home.
Gradually, as a result of the quality of work produced, demand exceeded supply, and David Ellam, Russell Gibbins and Jonathan Brennan were recruited.
A small office was procured and as a result of further growth, larger premises were later bought and specially developed to house staff which now exceeds 32, 25 of which are Costs Draftsmen.
Continued expansion resulted in a national outlook being adopted to which end, a local presence was established in Doncaster, Harrogate, Lichfield, Ilkley, Barnsley, Nottingham and Corby to meet growing demand.
The firm now has Draftsmen specialising in Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury, Child Care, Court of Protection and Criminal Costs and has associations with London Draftsmen for the purpose of lodging and dealing with bills in the Principal Registry.
