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Philip Gaskell

Consider cost implications at all key stages of litigation

Philip Gaskell

Technical Director

As Technical Director of QM Costs, Philip is responsible for QM’s strategic approach in relation to costs litigation. He specialises in dealing with high value claims but maintains a varied caseload to keep abreast of developments in all areas of costs.

Background:

Philip has 19 years’ experience in the legal costs industry with 17 years at QM Costs.

He has been instructed to deal with costs arising from a myriad of sources, including clinical negligence, professional negligence, commercial litigation, planning appeals, nuisance, wrongful arrest, judicial review and a wide range of personal injury claims.

Philip has dealt with costs issues ranging from test cases in relation to low value fixed costs cases through to group litigation and catastrophic loss claims, with costs claimed running to millions of pounds.

He has successfully pursued appeals and test cases in relation to issues including success fees, hourly rates, fixed costs, CFAs, breaches of the indemnity principle and proportionality.

Career highlights:

Philip’s notable cases include reducing a 100% success fee to 20% in the face of the then prevailing caselaw that 100% was appropriate by and using innovative arguments to show the prevailing position was illogical, saving an insurer client over £500,000 in legal costs.

Successfully arguing a London firm’s London hourly rates should not be allowed between the parties in A v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire, which was the only reported appeal in the High Court to favour the paying party on the ‘Wraith’ argument for almost a 10 year period.

In a recent case before the Senior Costs Judge (January 2015) successfully arguing costs were disproportionate and largely unnecessarily incurred, resulting in a reduction of over 80% to the claim for costs and a saving of over £300,000.

Best piece of advice:

Consider costs implications at all key stages of litigation.