ACL poll: Costs budgeting not as effective as intended

The Association of Costs Lawyers has conducted a survey of its 117 costs lawyers on the effectiveness of the costs budgeting process, which has been in place for three years. A striking 72% of those surveyed said that solicitors sometimes went over the budget, and 22% even said solicitors always do so. Over half of the lawyers surveyed believe that this is because the costs budgeting process takes place too early in the proceedings, and should instead come later when the parties could better predict the timescale and level of resources needed for the proceedings.