New regulatory body to oversee costs lawyers

A new regulatory body took on the oversight of costs lawyers from the beginning of this month.

The Costs Lawyer Standards Board will fulfill the role of approved regulator under delegated authority from the Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL). Its work will be overseen by the Legal Services Board.

The CLSB will be responsible for setting and maintaining:

• The education and training requirements that need to be met before a trainee costs lawyer can apply for a practising certificate as a costs lawyer
• The continuing professional development required of costs lawyers for them to retain their practising certificates
• The professional conduct of costs lawyers when they are practising, and
• The disciplinary mechanisms for any costs lawyers who might fall short of the standards expected of them.

The ACL was founded in 1977 to represent and promote the status of costs lawyers practising in England and Wales. Until 1 January 2011 it was known as the Association of Law Costs Draftsmen.