Where the costs are payable by another person as well as out of the legal aid fund, the rules governing commencement of detailed assessment proceedings, points of dispute and replies are the same as those which apply to between the parties cases generally. The Schedule of Costs Precedents includes model forms of bills for use in such cases (Precedents C and D).

The request for a detailed assessment hearing must (in addition to the items set out in Section 10) be accompanied by:

(i) the legal aid certificate, the LSC certificate and relevant amendment certificate, any authorities and any certificates of discharge or revocation;

(ii) a certificate in Precedent F(3) and where appropriate a certificate in Precedent F(4) of the Schedule of Costs Precedents (see Appendix F);

(iii)  if the legally aided party has a financial interest in the detailed assessment hearing and wishes to attend, the postal address of that person to which the court will send notice of any hearing;

(iv) if the rates payable out of the legal aid fund are prescribed rates, a schedule (the “Legal Aid /LSC Schedule”) setting out all the items in the bill which are claimed against other parties calculated at the legal aid prescribed rates. (See Appendix E for the precedent schedule which should be followed as closely as possible);

(v)  a copy of any default costs certificate in respect of the costs claimed in the bill.

The legally aided party should not be served with a copy of the notice of commencement and should only be served with a copy of the bill if he or she has a financial interest in the detailed assessment.

Excerpt from the Senior Courts Costs Office Guide 2021