Legal & Mortgage Fee Reduction or Refund

Legal Fee Refund/Reduction (for Individuals and Small Businesses)

We review invoices given to you, along with any relevant costs agreements or disclosures, and advise whether a reduction to the invoices are warranted and whether you are entitled to a refund of a portion of the fees already paid.

If we consider there is a basis for you to challenge costs charged by your former lawyer, we assist you as follows:

Victoria

Negotiate with your former lawyer as to a reasonable amount of total fees payable.
Consider whether costs should be calculated on different basis than those charged by the former lawyer, consider whether a further itemised bill should be requested.
File a summons for taxation in the Supreme Court, Costs Court division, seeking assessment or taxation of costs.
Attend a directions hearing to determine next steps, or agree as to next steps by consent orders.
Appear at preliminary hearing (if required).
Inspect the solicitor’s file (if required).
Prepare a notice of objection to the invoices.
Appear at Court appointed mediation.
If the matter is not settled at mediation, the matter will proceed to assessment in chambers (assessment of the reasonable costs by a Registrar ‘on the papers’).
Receive and advice on the Notice of Estimate received from the Court, following assessment in chambers, estimating total costs to be taxed and allowed.
If either party objects to the Notice of Estimate, then the matter will proceed to a taxation hearing - likely to proceed over several days.
Obtain Court Orders confirming total reduced fees payable to the solicitor, or any refund payable by the former solicitor.

NSW

Negotiate with your former lawyer as to a reasonable amount of total fees payable.
Consider whether costs should be calculated on different basis than those charged by the former lawyer, consider whether a further itemised bill should be requested.
Inspect the solicitor’s file (if required).
Prepare a notice of objection to the invoices.
File an application for assessment in the Supreme Court, Costs Assessment division, with notice of objections, seeking assessment of costs.
Review any response to objections filed by the solicitor.
The matter will be assigned to a Costs Assessor who will assess the reasonable amount that should have been charged by your solicitor.
Obtain a Certificate of Determination from the Costs Assessor confirming total reduced fees payable to the solicitor, or any refund payable by the former solicitor.

QLD

Negotiate with your former lawyer as to a reasonable amount of total fees payable.
Consider whether costs should be calculated on different basis than those charged by the former lawyer, consider whether a further itemised bill should be requested.
File an application for assessment of costs in the District or Supreme Court of Queensland accompanied by a supporting affidavit.
Receive an allocation of date from the Court registry for a directions hearing before a Judge or Magistrate (depending on the size of the bill) for the purpose of determining next steps (e.g. filing objections etc). The Court also appoints a particular Costs Assessor to assess costs at this directions hearing. This order can be made by consent.
File objections to the solicitor’s bill.
The Costs Assessor then assesses costs ‘on the papers’ and issues a Certificate of Determination quantifying the reduced fees payable to your former solicitor, or any refund payable by the former solicitor.

We provide this service to any individual or company that is not a ‘commercial or government client’ as defined by section 170 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law or any corresponding law.

Legal Costs Auditing (for Corporate Entities)

We review bills issued by your Legal Service Providers (LSPs) and identify charges which exceed the permitted amount under any specific terms contained within the original agreement with the LSPs and any billing guideline provided to the LSPs, and under the laws and guidelines of the jurisdiction in which the work was undertaken.

This information is then used to achieve a reduction in those legal fees, whether by liaising directly with the LSPs or by advising you.

One example of our auditing method is as follows:-

We receive bills directly from your LSPs, reviews these bills, negotiates reductions directly with your LSPs and obtains amended bills where warranted. You simply pay bills as we recommend – either in full or as amended.
We keep you informed throughout the process so you can keep up to date in regard to the reductions sought and why the reductions have been requested.

Our Services

Legal Fee Refund/Reduction (for Individuals and Small Businesses)

Victoria

NSW

QLD

We provide this service to any individual or company that is not a ‘commercial or government client’ as defined by section 170 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law or any corresponding law.

Legal Costs Auditing (for Corporate Entities)