In this latest costs chat with friends we are pleased to welcome Alicia Tew from Hailsham Chambers.

We cover the first instance decision of Costs Judge Leonard in Reed v Woodward, which provides a salutary reminder about the pitfalls for lawyers who act in person on assessments, as well as a tricky point about dividing costs where acting for two parties when only one can recover.

We then take a deeper dive into Deutsche Bank v Sebastian Holdings and Vik - a case which broke records for the length of the assessment and raised issues around evidencing the work carried out in very heavy cases. Is there a better way than 'forensic archaeology'?

Thirdly, Alicia took us through new QOCS rules regarding set-off that come into force on 6 April 2023.