Member Article

Clarion strengthens team with qualification of another two costs lawyers

Kris Kilsby and Anna Ramli are the latest members of Clarion’s costs and litigation funding team to successfully complete the specialist costs lawyer qualification; the team now includes five qualified costs lawyers and a solicitor.

Kris and Anna, who both joined Clarion in early 2018, undertook a three year course run by the Association of Costs Lawyers Training (ACLT). Comprising assignments, supervised practice and three examinations, the two lawyers passed with merits for the overall course and have now qualified as costs lawyers.

Covering the wide spectrum of legal costs and general legal principles which are required by costs lawyers in their day to day work, the course is regulated by the Costs Lawyers Standards Board (CLSB). Kris and Anna now have the right to carry out reserved legal activities such as conducting litigation and they have rights of audience in Court in respect of legal costs matters.

In his new role, Kris will focus on Court of Protection and Civil Litigation Costs matters while Anna will continue to specialise in Costs Management as well as using her wider experience of Court of Protection and Civil Litigation costs matters.

Kris and Anna join three other qualified costs lawyers at Clarion, Andrew McAulay, Joanne Chase and Danielle Walker, and a number of other members of the 15-strong team are already undertaking routes to qualification.

Andrew McAulay, partner and head of Clarion’s costs and litigation funding practice, said: “Having established a reputation in this specialist field serving law firms across the UK, we need to continue to invest in expanding and developing our team to ensure we can deliver outstanding service. In the past, the industry was largely unregulated and we believe it’s vital that clients have the peace of mind of knowing that our lawyers have undergone a high level of training in this niche area.

“Kris and Anna have done exceptionally well to complete this degree-level course with merits, and will bring additional technical knowledge and the commercial acumen on which our clients rely.”

During most of his time on the course, Kris was a member of the student council and is currently acting as chair. He has been involved in preparing responses to consultations about qualification routes and the direction of the profession as a whole on behalf of the student body.

Kris has four years of costs experience having graduated from the University of York with a Masters in International Corporate and Commercial Transactions Law (LLM). Anna also has four years’ experience in in legal costs mainly dealing with Claimant work.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Emma Kilmurray .