Costs lawyer
- Level
- 6
- Typical duration
- 48 months (about 4 years)
- Max funding band
- £21,000
- End-point assessment
- 1 months
- Route
- Legal, finance and accounting
- Regulated by
- Costs Lawyer Standards Board
qualified experts in legal costs. Advising clients and with a right to appear in court on behalf of their clients on matters relating to costs
About the role
This occupation is found in any size of legal organisation in the public, private or third sector. Costs lawyers can help clients with legal costs in legal fields such as personal injury, criminal, court of protection, family, public law or contract law.
The broad purpose of the occupation is to advise and represent clients in regard to legal costs law and practice.
Costs Lawyers are qualified experts in legal costs. They can advise clients on issues like litigation costs, the cost of legal services, such as, solicitors’ or barristers’ fees, and legal aid costs. They have a right to appear in court on behalf of their clients on matters relating to costs. Legal costs might include: the fees that the client pays for legal advice; the cost of bringing or defending court proceedings; costs incurred by other parties to court proceedings that a client might have to pay if they lose and costs they may have to pay if they win. These costs can be high and the law on legal costs is complex. Costs Lawyers can therefore represent their client's interests and help them make informed decisions. A Costs Lawyer may be involved in litigation. Usually this will be in the context of a civil court case, but Costs Lawyers also act in criminal cases where costs are payable by the prosecution. They can advise on the amount of costs that are likely to be incurred in the litigation or prepare details of costs that a client has already incurred where they are entitled to reimbursement from another party. They can also advise on costs a client is required to pay to another party and challenge those costs where appropriate.
A Costs Lawyer may advise where a client has concerns about the fees they have been charged by a legal professional, such as a barrister or solicitor. A Costs Lawyer can also provide advice at the time a client enters into a contract with a legal adviser, including “no win no fee” arrangements.
Costs Lawyers are qualified professionals that must meet certain professional standards set by the Costs Lawyer Standards Board (CLSB). A person does not need to be qualified and regulated before they can advise consumers about matters relating to legal costs. Unregulated costs advisers are sometimes called costs draftsmen, or similar terms. Costs Lawyers can do certain things that unregulated advisers can’t do and using a regulated Costs Lawyer offers special protections for clients. Costs Lawyers are authorised to do three reserved legal activities related to legal costs: they have the right to conduct litigation, represent their clients in court and administer oaths.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with members of their immediate legal team, legally and non-legally trained stakeholders and customers who use their services. They may also interact with government departments, financial institutions, regulators and professional bodies. They may attend relevant Courts and Tribunals to represent their clients.
An employee in this occupation will be responsible for ensuring that all legal activities related to legal costs are carried out effectively and lawfully. They will carry out certain reserved activities that only a qualified and regulated lawyer is eligible to undertake. They provide an end-to-end specialist service for their clients. On qualification, a successful apprentice can apply to the Costs Lawyer Services Board for a practising certificate that enables them to carry out the following reserved legal activities under the Legal Services Act 2007.
How it compares
At 48 months (about 4 years), it is longer than average for a degree-level apprenticeship (the average across all 172 Level 6+ standards is 39 months).
The funding band — the maximum an employer's levy can contribute to training costs — is £21,000, below the £21,500 average for degree-level standards. Apprentices never pay tuition either way.
Typical job titles
- Costs lawyer
- Costs negotiator
Entry requirements
There are no character and suitability requirements for undertaking the apprenticeship. However, a Candidate is advised that the CLSB assesses character and suitability when a Costs Lawyer applies to become authorised and regulated by the CLSB under the Legal Services Act 2007 (Costs Lawyer practising certificate). Therefore, before starting the Costs Lawyer apprenticeship it is suggested that a Candidate considers these requirements. If a Candidate is unsure about the assessment of character and suitability before commencing the CLCA or during the CLCA, the Candidate is advised to contact the CLSB at enquiries@clsb.info for clarification on the impact of this as a positive answer is not always a bar to a practising certificate being issued.
Entry requirements are ultimately set by each employer — treat these as the baseline, not the bar.
What you come out with
- Costs Lawyer Qualification — Level 6 (non-degree qualification)
What you'll learn
The official standard defines 19 core duties, 12 knowledge areas, 19 skills, 8 behaviours. This is the actual assessed content of the apprenticeship — worth reading before an interview, because competency questions are usually written straight from these lists.
Core duties 19
- Take instructions from clients, gather an understanding of client need and explain the risks and benefits of options available and proposed next steps.
- Set out legal research strategies, conduct legal research using a range of approaches and sources and provide analysis of outcomes to stakeholders.
- Analyse and evaluate research, data and information to inform strategies, risk and decision-making in legal casework.
- Draft key documents including: Bills and Schedules of Costs, Points of Dispute and Replies to claims for costs.
- Assist in the preparation of costs budgets and advise on costs budgets presented by an opposing party.
- Advise on retainers and fee arrangements between clients and their legal advisors.
- Advise on and prepare claims for costs from public funds such as Legal Aid.
- Advise on disputes between solicitors and their clients.
- Lead negotiations on legal costs.
- Act as costs mediators or arbitrators in costs disputes.
- Deliver advice on legal costs to different types of clients, ensuring that they fully understand their options and make informed decisions.
- Undertake advocacy on behalf of clients in respect of contentious costs disputes.
- Source, handle and store personal data and confidential information safely and securely.
- Deliver legal services using digital technology safely and securely to protect the organisation from cyber security risks and reputational harm.
- Maintain professional standards by undertaking Continuous Professional Development and maintain the records required to retain qualified and regulated status.
- Provide legal services in line with Regulatory requirements regarding Ethics Conduct and Professionalism including working regarding Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
- Manage caseload in line with organisational approaches and ensure commerciality of activities is considered throughout.
- Manage and apply financial information to caseloads to deliver outputs that are value for money and support customer or organisational objectives.
- Undertake the technical supervision of cases by junior lawyers and provide feedback and training as needed.
Knowledge 12
- the Civil Procedure Rules which are fundamental to the role of the Costs Lawyer and are applicable to the conduct of dispute resolution, from pre-proceedings through to trial and appeal, within the context of a dispute arising in contract or tort, including the relevance of conduct to costs and case management, Part 36 offers, other settlement offers, and the relevance of privilege to negotiations.
- the costs implications of a range of options, to determine an appropriate course of action including timing and suitability of settlement and choice of settlement methods, and to appraise the client, including of likely next steps from the opposing party.
- the rules and procedures relating to legal costs, including the costs of proceedings and appeals, for tribunals including tribunals determining employment, immigration, family and criminal matters, the Supreme Court, Court of Protection and arbitral tribunals.
- the relationship between the Legal Aid Agency and the providers of legal aid services and the availability of legal aid within the practice areas of family, criminal and civil law. Understanding legal aid certificates, how much funding is available, what can be claimed and when. Understanding the appropriate way to present and submit claims for costs in legal aid cases, when to submit to the Court and when to submit to the Legal Aid Agency.
- the fundamental principles of contract law relating to offer, acceptance, consideration and the intention to create legal relations, differences between terms of contract and their incorporation, vitiating factors and remedies.
- the principles of tort relating to personal injury claims in negligence, nuisance, employers’ and occupiers’ liability, relevant limitation considerations, the availability of defences, the remedies available, including the principles of assessing quantum.
- the rules and procedural requirements relating to costs assessment in the civil courts, including case and costs management; proportionality; costs orders; qualified one-way costs shifting, including awareness of arguments on costs matters in personal injury and clinical negligence claims; the principles of costs assessment for summary, provisional and detailed assessment; and payments on account.
- the regulatory framework of the legal service market, including that of the Solicitors Act 1974, and the range of funding options (excluding legal aid) available to a client, including issues relating to retainers; client billing and recovery of costs (including retention of monies and deduction of monies from a client’s damages); legal expenses insurance; damages based agreements; conditional fee agreements; and third party funding.
- the professional rules governing the relationship between a lawyer and a client, particularly the professional obligations of Costs Lawyers imposed by the Costs Lawyer Code of Conduct and the professional obligations of solicitors that relate to costs and client money, including those imposed by the SRA Codes of Conduct and the SRA Accounts Rules.
- relevant communication skills and techniques used by an advocate and to conduct themselves with due regard to professional etiquette and the duty to the court, and present reasoned and persuasive oral arguments and oral submissions which show understanding of the strengths of a client’s case and comply with the specifics of relevant rules and procedure.
- working safely and securely online with digital technologies including principles of cybersecurity
- principles of data security and data handling
Skills 19
- distinguish between the costs implications of a range of options, to determine an appropriate course of action including timing and suitability of settlement and choice of settlement methods, and to appraise the client, including of likely next steps from the opposing party.
- Synthesise knowledge and understanding of the law, facts and evidence arising in a complex scenario to determine and evaluate the costs implications of a range of options.
- present logical recommendations on appropriate courses of action to advise a client in their best interests as to the conduct, and possible resolution of, a dispute, showing an awareness of tactics and risk with sound guidance on costs implications.
- draft, and respond to, statements of case and settlement offers and prepare for in-person negotiation; and communicate effectively according to the recipient.
- apply knowledge and a general understanding of law, facts and evidence to a straightforward scenario to explain practice and procedure in a given forum, including guidance as to costs considerations, as appropriate
- assess and evaluate facts and evidence to advise, showing tactical and risk awareness, including of costs, in relation to the practice and procedure, conduct and management of a claim (including resolution, as appropriate) in a specialist forum.
- advise on the scope of legal aid, how to claim and how costs will be assessed in the relevant forum.
- advise on costs assessment and inter-partes costs recovery in a legally aided matter including preparation of a Bill of Costs and advising on the detailed assessment procedure.
- advise upon knowledge of the law of contract to establish a cause of action; set out allegations; consider the availability of defences; establish the evidence to be obtained and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a client’s case.
- formulate comprehensive advice to a client upon a range of complex issues relating to a dispute arising in contract including evaluation of facts and evidence, to develop relevant argument and challenges, and communicate effectively according to the recipient.
- apply the law of tort to establish a cause of action; set out allegations; to consider the availability of defences; to establish the evidence to be obtained and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a client’s case in relation to establishing or defending the claim including in relation to causation and quantum
- formulate comprehensive advice to a client upon a range of complex issues relating to a dispute arising in tort, including evaluation of facts and evidence, to develop relevant argument and challenges, and communicate effectively according to the recipient.
- advise a client, to determine a likely costs outcome, to prepare relevant and accurate costs documentation including standard costs forms, Precedent H budgets (including drafting accurate statements of incurred and estimated future costs), bills of costs, points of dispute and reply.
- evaluate information and provide accurate calculations, recommendations and advice to a client on a range of complex issues pertaining to costs, and protective measures including to provide guidance on preparation for CCMCs, the approval and agreement of budgets, court sanctions, variation of budgets and the relevance of budgets at subsequent assessment.
- explain to a client the range of funding options, to draft key funding documents and retainers to comply with requirements, and to calculate success fees in complex scenarios.
- synthesise knowledge and understanding to evaluate the suitability of funding options available to a client and to make recommendations, to advise on budget management and lawyer-client fee disputes.
- use the professional rules of conduct to advise on conduct issues, to draft client care communications which comply with professional requirements, to demonstrate an awareness of the need to act in accordance with the core duties of professional conduct and ethics to preserve the reputation of the profession, retain an individual’s regulated status and protect the interests of clients and the wider public.
- formulate comprehensive advice upon conduct issues and to apply the professional rules of conduct to a given scenario, communicating effectively according to the recipient.
- use relevant communication skills and techniques to advocate with due regard to professional etiquette and the duty to the court, and present reasoned and persuasive oral arguments and oral submissions which show understanding of the strengths of a client’s case and comply with the specifics of relevant rules and procedure.
Behaviours 8
- Work independently and manage own caseload.
- Pay attention to detail and use the rigour of process.
- Advocate for and own decisions, identify areas for self-improvement and respond positively to feedback.
- Investigate legal issues, identify innovative solutions and apply different approaches in daily practice.
- Seek out and analyse solutions before asking for guidance on their application or possible alternatives.
- Recognise and do the right thing, even when challenged and respectfully support others to do the same.
- Deal effectively with ambiguity and uncertainty, contextualise advice and provide risk assessment that extends beyond pure legal analysis.
- Be open to and learn from different perspectives, and foster equality and diversity within the profession and beyond.
Live vacancies
No live vacancies for this course as of 2026-07-24 — new adverts appear on Find an apprenticeship daily, and many degree apprenticeship employers recruit on their own careers sites instead.
Universities registered to deliver it
No university is currently on the provider register for this standard — delivery is by specialist training providers. The full provider list is on Find apprenticeship training.
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Official sources
- Official standard page (Skills England)
- Registered training providers (Find apprenticeship training)
Occupational summary, duties, knowledge, skills and behaviours reproduced from the ST1400 apprenticeship standard (last updated 2026-05-01) — contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Always check the official page before applying: standards get revised.