Meet the Inter Partes team

Name: Robert Kerr

Location: Manchester

Qualifications: LLB (Hons) University of Manchester and Costs Lawyer

Costs Drafting History: Robert began his cost drafting career in December 2010.

Rob is the Team Leader of the Inter Partes Department and responsible for both our team of Costs Lawyers and our trainees in this department. He takes great pride in training and developing trainees to be the future of the industry.

Rob has experience across a wide range of matters (including legal aid) but now specialises in inter partes disputes. Rob typically deals with clinical negligence, professional negligence and commercial matters including high value matters where costs are in excess of £500,000. He accepts instructions on behalf of both paying and receiving parties and deals with all aspects of the costs process including budgeting, bills of costs, Points of Dispute/Replies and other costs pleadings. Rob also accepts instructions to attend CCMC’s and detailed assessment hearings.

Profile: Outside of work Robert is a keen musician and enjoys going to gigs and festivals. Robert is also a keen footballer and proud Liverpool fan.

Claim to fame: He once met Princess Diana.

Favourite film/TV genre: Training Day; Flight of the Conchords.

Name: Adam Fox

Qualifications: Law Degree – LLB(Hons), Bar Professional Training Course – BPTC – LgDip and Costs Lawyer

Costs Drafting History: Adam began his career in costs in 2011.

Adam began his career in law as a costs draftsman at a small local costs consultancy following completion of the Bar Professional Training Course progressing on to work in-house for a large city centre solicitors firm and a national costs practice before joining Bidwell Henderson.

In his previous role, Adam established himself as one of the primary Costs Lawyer advocates for a large national costs firms, attending over 100 Hearings, including Applications, Costs Case Management Conferences and Detailed Assessment Hearings across the length and breadth of the country.

Adam has experience in all areas of legal costs but specialises primarily in inter-partes matters. In the past, Adam has prepared costs budgets in large Group Litigation matters, as well as acting in costs proceedings relating to clinical negligence, personal injury and commercial disputes to list a small sample of areas. Adam regularly deals with high value costs claims and has experience in dealing with matters from preparation of the budget and bill all the way through to detailed assessment hearing.

Having experience working for both paying and receiving parties in all aspects of inter-partes work including the preparation of costs budgets, bills, electronic or e-bills, statements of costs, points of dispute and replies and other costs pleadings, Adam is accepts instructions to advise in relation to costs matters and also appear as an advocate at assessment hearings.

Finally, Adam has acted for Litigants in Person and those no longer represented by solicitors in numerous matters and provides simple and straightforward advice absent of legalese for all such clients.

Profile: Away from work, Adam plays rugby and is a long suffering supporter of Swindon Town Football Club

Favourite TV genre: Game of Thrones

Name: Eleanor Bryant

Location: Cambridge

Costs Drafting History: Eleanor started her costs career in September 2009.

Qualifications: Law LLB (First Class Hons) – University of Kent & Legal Practice Course (Distinction) – City University, London

After graduating from university, Eleanor joined a firm of solicitors specialising in legal aid housing, family and immigration cases. The firm did all its own billing and she discovered she had a natural aptitude for costing. When she saw an advert looking for a trainee costs draftsman, she jumped at the opportunity and was lucky enough to be offered the position. The rest, as they say, is history!

Eleanor has experience in preparing CCMS claims and court assessed bills (including 6 column bills) in legal aid housing, social welfare, human rights and family cases.

She has extensive experience in preparing Precedent H costs budgets, amending and/or updating budgets and preparing phased bills. She also assists clients during the negotiation stages, including drafting points of dispute, replies to points of dispute and advising during negotiations.

Her favourite area of law is court of protection, but she has also dealt with probate, industrial disease, personal injury and medical negligence proceedings.

Profile: Eleanor’s family own, show and breed English Setters, a vulnerable native breed. She is a committee member of two dog show societies and also judge the breed at open show level. Rather predictably for anyone with big dogs, She spends a lot of time walking!

Favourite TV genre: Wildlife documentaries and history.

Name: Owen Jones

Location: North Wales

Costs Drafting History: Owen began costs drafting in 1990.

Owen has over 30 years experience as a costs draftsman, drawing his first bill in 1990. Having worked as an independent draftsman based in North Wales and the North West for both local and national practices and spent the latter 1990’s as head of costs for J Keith Park & Co dealing with £10million p.a. costs recovery, to include major generic actions in both PI and financial/professional negligence cases.

Since 2001, Owen has been an independent costs consultant, dealing with both claimant and defendant work covering all aspects of costs from PI to contested probate, commercial and Court of Protection matters; focusing on providing clients with a professional bespoke service. This includes providing advice on both specific issues and costs generally, updates to CPR and the many changes and challenges faced by the profession, bill drafting, points of dispute, replies, advice on recovery/exposure and advocacy in both provincial courts and the SCCO.

Owen regularly advises receiving parties at partner level as to strategy on both individual cases and optimising recovery firm wide and has dealt with paying party insurers and local authorities at director level on the subject of managing risk, setting reserves and staff training.

Profile: Owen enjoys spending time with his family, is an avid golfer, he served as captain of Padeswood and Buckley Golf Club for 2016-17, and being a proud Welshman is passionate about international rugby union.

“Owen works exceptionally hard. He is always the first to offer advice and will work out of hours to hit deadlines on last minute instructions. He is knowledgeable and a great sounding board for tricky IP queries.”

Mark Bidwell, Director

Name: Josie Sadler

Location: Chippenham, Wiltshire

Qualifications: Costs Lawyer, PRINCE2 Practitioner, Horticulture HNC and Human Geography BSc

Costs Drafting History: Josie began her career in costs in 2016.

Josie’s main area of expertise is in drafting Inter Parte Bills of Costs in personal injury matters including RTA and clinical negligence claims. She also has experience in preparing Points of Reply and Costs Budgets.

Josie can also draft long and short form Bills of Costs on Court of Protection matters for assessment in the SCCO.

Her Legal Aid experience has mostly been in preparing costs claims in family law including Care and Child Arrangements proceedings.

Something we wouldn’t know about you: Josie worked 3 ski seasons in France, doing ski guiding, running ski chalets and managing club hotels.

Favourite TV genre: She enjoys comedies and thrillers.

Profile: In her work before law costs she managed the tree planting programme for the city of Bristol. On weekends Josie enjoys walking and camping with her family and also enjoys reading a good book, relaxing with yoga and playing tennis.

Name: Laura Kirby

Location: Saffron Walden

Qualifications: Costs Draftsperon

Costs Drafting History:

Favourite film/TV genre: Crime

Location: Manchester

Job description: Inter partes costs recovery.

Claim to fame / Something we wouldn’t know about you:  Jennifer was the first baby to be born in the 80s in Salford.

Favourite Film or TV Programme/Genres: Jennifer enjoys watching Emmerdale or action movies.

Hobbies/ Brief personal narrative: Jennifer started her career in costs in 1997 as an Administrative Assistant within a nationwide firm of Law Costs Draftsmen. In 2002 she took a leap of faith and became a Law Costs Draftsman. In 2011 Jennifer commenced a home course via CLT, graduating from UWE as a Specialist Paralegal in Civil Litigation in November 2012. Jennifer has continued to work as a Costs Draftsman dealing with all areas of work, to include PI, industrial Disease, Clinical Negligence and Court of Protection.  Outside of work, Jennifer likes to go on holidays to Greece, walk her dogs and to spent time with her daughter.