Guideline Hourly Rates: Civil Justice Council recommendations accepted

This content was written by BLM prior to its merger with Clyde & Co.

Yesterday afternoon the Master of the Rolls accepted the recommendations of the Civil Justice Council and agreed that revised hourly rates as suggested by the Civil Justice Council will be implemented from 1 October 2021.

The Master of the Rolls commented:

“I am grateful to those who have taken the time to write to me about this work, particularly those who have raised concerns during the consultation process in respect of likely changes to working practices following the pandemic. Whilst I think there is likely to be merit in their concerns, I do not think that this should delay the necessary update of what is ultimately an advisory guide. I have, however, agreed with the Civil Justice Council that there will be a further review of guideline hourly rates reporting within two years.”

With a review scheduled in the next two years, our attention will turn to collating relevant data to assist the upcoming review in 2023 which will include data on claimed and recoverable rates allowed post October 2021 and changes to working practices and business models.