LEGAL PROFESSION UNIFORM LAW (NSW) - SECT 198 Applications for costs assessment

LEGAL PROFESSION UNIFORM LAW (NSW) - SECT 198

198 Applications for costs assessment

(1) Applications for an assessment of the whole or any part of legal costs payable to a law practice may be made by any of the following--

(a) a client who has paid or is liable to pay them to the law practice;

(b) a third party payer who has paid or is liable to pay them to the law practice or the client;

(c) the law practice;

(d) another law practice, where the other law practice retained the law practice to act on behalf of a client and the law practice has given the other law practice a bill for doing so.

(2) An application under this section is to be made in accordance with applicable jurisdictional legislation.

(3) An application under this section must be made within 12 months after--

(a) the bill was given to, or the request for payment was made to, the client, third party payer or other law practice; or

(b) the legal costs were paid if neither a bill nor a request was made.

(4) However, an application that is made out of time may be dealt with by the costs assessor if the designated tribunal, on application by the costs assessor or the client or third party payer who made the application for assessment, determines, after having regard to the delay and the reasons for the delay, that it is just and fair for the application for assessment to be dealt with after the 12-month period.

(5) Subsection (4) does not apply to an application made out of time by a third party payer who is not a commercial or government client but who would be a commercial or government client if the third party payer were a client of the law practice concerned.

(6) If the third party payer is a non-associated third party payer, the law practice concerned must provide the third party payer, on the written request of the third party payer, with sufficient information to allow the third party payer to consider making, and if thought fit to make, an application for a costs assessment under this section.

(7) If an application for a costs assessment is made in accordance with this Division--

(a) the costs assessment must take place without any money being paid into court on account of the legal costs the subject of the application; and

(b) the law practice must not commence any proceedings to recover the legal costs until the costs assessment has been completed.

(8) A costs assessor is to cause a copy of an application for a costs assessment to be given to any law practice or client concerned or any other person whom the costs assessor thinks it appropriate to notify.

(9) A person who is notified by the costs assessor under subsection (8)--

(a) is entitled to participate in the costs assessment process; and

(b) is taken to be a party to the assessment; and

(c) if the costs assessor so determines, is bound by the assessment.

(10) If there is a non-associated third party payer for a client of a law practice, then, despite any other provision of this Division, the assessment of the costs payable by the non-associated third party payer does not affect the amount of legal costs payable by the client to the law practice.