Law Costs Draftsman - Lowering Standards
Law Costs Regulatory Body Lowers Standards What is in name...
? Law Costs Draftsman, it sounds good, seems to be a solid legal role but yet look on any job advert and you'll find variations on this theme, examples include Law Costs Negotiator, Costs Consultant, Legal Costs Draftsperson.
The ALCD exists as a body to train, regulate and promote costs draftsmen.
However, membership is in no way mandatory.
The ALCD was recently granted authorised body status which enabled it to grant rights of audience and the right to conduct costs litigation to Costs Lawyers.
The term "law costs draftsman" is available to all regardless of qualifications, experience or absence of any regulation from a recognised body.
Most if not all industries have a regulatory body that instructs, qualifies and enforces it's sector Law Costs Drafting in the UK has the Association of Law Costs Draftsmen (ALCD).
The Association of Law Costs Draftsmen had until very recently four classes of membership: Students registered with the Association were required to complete one module of the training course within the first year of membership to retain their status.
To enrole as a student applicants are not required to be employed in costs law merely pay the required membership fee.
Associates have completed the full training course consisting of three separate modules, attended the compulsory seminars and passed the examination of the Association at Associate level in addition they must have completed five years qualifying employment.
Fellows are full members of the Association who have qualified as Associates, passed the examination at Fellowship level and must have completed seven years qualifying employment.
Costs Lawyers who are Fellows who have completed the Costs Lawyer course of the Association.
The Costs Lawyer course consists of attending a two-day training course.
The course covers ALCD accounts rules, the Civil Procedure Rules and advocacy training, there is no exam only an investment of time, 2 days resulting in a 100% pass rate.
Many industry training courses are designed to educate their members, or bring them up to speed on best practices but he danger with the Costs Lawyer Course is that it represents the rout to qualification and therefore confers rights of audience at circuit Judge or High Court level.
Given this, the real barrier to Costs Lawyer status is/was the requirements necessary to become a Fellow of the Association.
i.
e qualified as an associate, completed 7 years training and passed the exam at fellowship level.
The fellowship exam is widely regarded as test of an ALCD members professional mettle, standards have been set significantly high to ensure that many do not pass therefore allowing the fellowship exam to retain it's revered status.
The standards was set as you would expect from a professional body and as such they represented the last hurdle to official recognition and rights of audience.
This brings us to the ALCD's recent membership shakeup.
The first change is the category of membership, from here on members will be: No longer associates or fellows from here out members will be either trainee costs lawyer or costs lawyer.
For this to happen the following will be observed and this is where many could accuse the ALCD of slight of hand, a smoke and mirrors transformation which in effect will double the number of Legally recognised costs Drafting's professionals overnight.
1.
All existing Associates will automatically be upgraded to the status of Fellow.
2.
Fellow status will cease to exist as of 1 January 2012.
3.
In the intervening period, existing Fellows are required to attend the Costs Lawyer course.
Over recent years in the lead up to ALCD's official recognition as Governing and awarding body the ALCD training programme has become increasingly comprehensive and thorough with standard required to attain Associate level far more difficult than in previous times.
In the past the old boy network conferred membership as and when it felt it necessary to remain representative of the whole costs profession or in special cases where it was deemed the subject had 'served his dues' an informal and indefinable apprenticeship.
We therefore already had a situation where many had achieved Fellow status without having to show any actual skill or knowledge of costs law or had achieved this status by a less onerous short-cut.
This is not, of course, to suggest that there are not some extremely gifted costs draftsmen among them.
However, that is regardless of, not because of, their formal status.
In a return to form the ALCD has now allowed a further large group to attain, Costs Lawyer status "on the cheap".
As the number of Costs Lawyers will therefore have doubled by 2012 as a result of members attending a two-day course The question now is that having operated at the two extremes which route are the ALCD likely to follow - The early stage auto induction that characterized and industry body prepared to rubber stamp those deemed proficient without examination OR the newer, leaner body associated with the Fellowship exam, the final hurdle that even experienced draftsmen have fallen at.
Cynics suspect that in it's desire to recognized as a strong regulatory body the ALCD will maintain the high standards of current years and require all future draftsmen to pass difficult examinations which really begs the question why let so many associate members slip through by night right now by virtue of the two day back door course.
Of course the issue here is that many of the associates who have currently failed the fellowship course will now automatically (after a two day 'no examination' course) be upgraded to Cost Lawyer Status and hold rights of audience and the rights to exercise section 27 and 28 rights.
Writing in Costs Lawyer magazine, ALCD Chairman Iain Stark wrote that "change is inevitable in order to ensure not only regulation but also high professional standards" but it's difficult to see how throwing open the doors to allow every associate automatic advancement backs his statement.
The ALCDs aim is to achieve protected body status.
This: "would mean that only approved members of the ALCD could represent parties in costs proceedings.
Effectively, this would require the unregulated part of our profession to either join the ALCD or be precluded from participating in costs proceedings".
This always seemed a rather unrealistic goal but this automatic upgrading of Associates to Fellows (and thereby Costs Lawyers) must represent the death knoll for he dream of protected body status.
? Law Costs Draftsman, it sounds good, seems to be a solid legal role but yet look on any job advert and you'll find variations on this theme, examples include Law Costs Negotiator, Costs Consultant, Legal Costs Draftsperson.
The ALCD exists as a body to train, regulate and promote costs draftsmen.
However, membership is in no way mandatory.
The ALCD was recently granted authorised body status which enabled it to grant rights of audience and the right to conduct costs litigation to Costs Lawyers.
The term "law costs draftsman" is available to all regardless of qualifications, experience or absence of any regulation from a recognised body.
Most if not all industries have a regulatory body that instructs, qualifies and enforces it's sector Law Costs Drafting in the UK has the Association of Law Costs Draftsmen (ALCD).
The Association of Law Costs Draftsmen had until very recently four classes of membership: Students registered with the Association were required to complete one module of the training course within the first year of membership to retain their status.
To enrole as a student applicants are not required to be employed in costs law merely pay the required membership fee.
Associates have completed the full training course consisting of three separate modules, attended the compulsory seminars and passed the examination of the Association at Associate level in addition they must have completed five years qualifying employment.
Fellows are full members of the Association who have qualified as Associates, passed the examination at Fellowship level and must have completed seven years qualifying employment.
Costs Lawyers who are Fellows who have completed the Costs Lawyer course of the Association.
The Costs Lawyer course consists of attending a two-day training course.
The course covers ALCD accounts rules, the Civil Procedure Rules and advocacy training, there is no exam only an investment of time, 2 days resulting in a 100% pass rate.
Many industry training courses are designed to educate their members, or bring them up to speed on best practices but he danger with the Costs Lawyer Course is that it represents the rout to qualification and therefore confers rights of audience at circuit Judge or High Court level.
Given this, the real barrier to Costs Lawyer status is/was the requirements necessary to become a Fellow of the Association.
i.
e qualified as an associate, completed 7 years training and passed the exam at fellowship level.
The fellowship exam is widely regarded as test of an ALCD members professional mettle, standards have been set significantly high to ensure that many do not pass therefore allowing the fellowship exam to retain it's revered status.
The standards was set as you would expect from a professional body and as such they represented the last hurdle to official recognition and rights of audience.
This brings us to the ALCD's recent membership shakeup.
The first change is the category of membership, from here on members will be: No longer associates or fellows from here out members will be either trainee costs lawyer or costs lawyer.
For this to happen the following will be observed and this is where many could accuse the ALCD of slight of hand, a smoke and mirrors transformation which in effect will double the number of Legally recognised costs Drafting's professionals overnight.
1.
All existing Associates will automatically be upgraded to the status of Fellow.
2.
Fellow status will cease to exist as of 1 January 2012.
3.
In the intervening period, existing Fellows are required to attend the Costs Lawyer course.
Over recent years in the lead up to ALCD's official recognition as Governing and awarding body the ALCD training programme has become increasingly comprehensive and thorough with standard required to attain Associate level far more difficult than in previous times.
In the past the old boy network conferred membership as and when it felt it necessary to remain representative of the whole costs profession or in special cases where it was deemed the subject had 'served his dues' an informal and indefinable apprenticeship.
We therefore already had a situation where many had achieved Fellow status without having to show any actual skill or knowledge of costs law or had achieved this status by a less onerous short-cut.
This is not, of course, to suggest that there are not some extremely gifted costs draftsmen among them.
However, that is regardless of, not because of, their formal status.
In a return to form the ALCD has now allowed a further large group to attain, Costs Lawyer status "on the cheap".
As the number of Costs Lawyers will therefore have doubled by 2012 as a result of members attending a two-day course The question now is that having operated at the two extremes which route are the ALCD likely to follow - The early stage auto induction that characterized and industry body prepared to rubber stamp those deemed proficient without examination OR the newer, leaner body associated with the Fellowship exam, the final hurdle that even experienced draftsmen have fallen at.
Cynics suspect that in it's desire to recognized as a strong regulatory body the ALCD will maintain the high standards of current years and require all future draftsmen to pass difficult examinations which really begs the question why let so many associate members slip through by night right now by virtue of the two day back door course.
Of course the issue here is that many of the associates who have currently failed the fellowship course will now automatically (after a two day 'no examination' course) be upgraded to Cost Lawyer Status and hold rights of audience and the rights to exercise section 27 and 28 rights.
Writing in Costs Lawyer magazine, ALCD Chairman Iain Stark wrote that "change is inevitable in order to ensure not only regulation but also high professional standards" but it's difficult to see how throwing open the doors to allow every associate automatic advancement backs his statement.
The ALCDs aim is to achieve protected body status.
This: "would mean that only approved members of the ALCD could represent parties in costs proceedings.
Effectively, this would require the unregulated part of our profession to either join the ALCD or be precluded from participating in costs proceedings".
This always seemed a rather unrealistic goal but this automatic upgrading of Associates to Fellows (and thereby Costs Lawyers) must represent the death knoll for he dream of protected body status.
Source...