The Civil Justice Council is undertaking a review of the Solicitors’ Guideline Hourly Rates. Given that they have been unchanged since 2010, this presumably can only result in an increase in hourly rates for solicitors whose costs are being summarily assessed.
A sub-committee has been set up to conduct the review. Although the membership of the committee has not been announced on the CJC website it is understood that it will be chaired by Mr Justice Stewart and will include representatives of the legal professions and consumers.
Guideline hourly rates first appeared in 2003. They were brought in following the introduction of the CPR which resulted in more costs being summarily assessed by judges on the day of the hearing. However it was never the intention that judges should stick rigidly to the guideline figures. Lord Phillips MR said in 2004 ‘The Guide is intended to be of help and assistance to judges, but it is not intended as a substitute for the proper exercise of their discretion having heard argument on the issues to be decided.’
The last revision of the rates was in 2010 when the guide figure for a Grade A solicitor in a City of London firm went up from £402 to £409. At the other end of scale the rate for a Grade D fee earner in a Band Two or Three area increased by a couple of pounds to £111.
A review conducted in 2014 by the CJC’s Costs Committee recommended some increases but this was rejected by the then Master of the Rolls, Lord Dyson. The rates have remained frozen ever since. However calls by many solicitors and costs lawyers for a fresh review have now been heeded.
In the last ten years there has been a 30% increase in the consumer price index. There has been a similar increase in average weekly earnings. If the guideline rates had kept pace with inflation the Grade A city solicitor rate would now be £529. Although the current review looks likely to result in a rise in the rates, an increase of these proportions is probably unlikely.
Consideration will also be given to setting rates on a more regional basis, with input from local solicitors and regional costs judges.
The committee is expected to make its recommendations by the end of the year. The current guideline hourly rates can be found at www.gov.uk/guidance/solicitors-guideline-hourly-rates.