Taxed costs fall to 50% of claims as court cuts bills

Taxed costs fall to 50% of claims as court cuts bills

JUDICIAL STATISTICS: Woolf reforms working as claims fall

The High Court slashed legal bills brought for taxation by almost half on average last year, continuing a three-year decrease in fees allowed.

The figures - revealed in the annual judicial statistics - appear against a backdrop of falling claims: the total brought in the Queens Bench Division dropped by 63% in 2000, bolstering confidence that the Woolf reforms are working.The 700 bills taxed in the Chancery Division in actions and matters were brought in at 33 million but allowed at under 18 million, only 54% of the total.

In 1998 the figure was 75%, and last year it slipped to 65%.Likewise, in the Queen's Bench Division, bills for actions and matters were brought in at a total of 87.5 million, but only 44 million was allowed - less than 51%.

In 1998 it was 66%, and 55% in 1999.The annual statistics show that last year 26,786 claims and originating summons were issued in the Queen's Bench Division, compared to 72,161 in 1999, although the Chancery Division figure increased by 7% to over 33,000 proceedings.Harry Anderson, head of litigation and arbitration at City firm Herbert Smith, said this overall decrease could partly be explained by the drop in personal injury claims owing to pre-action protocols, a growth in mediation, and the switch from legal aid to conditional fees 'making lawyers more reluctant to take on cases'.Andrew Towler