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We had a FT fixed costs case heard yesterday. For us, this was still a lost-leader, even with the indemnity costs.

Having beaten our own Part 36, we were entitled to just under four months worth of indemnity costs. Counsel recovered his fee in full, but we were reduced to a Band C rate on the national guidelines, had document time reduced by 30% (from 9.5 hours to 6 hours), were not allowed anything for attending the Trial etc. This meant that Counsel got more for his brief fee than we did, on an indemnity basis, for the four months leading up to that day.

The indemnity period covered the stage from just before listing to trial. In that time, we had prepared LQs, the Trial Index, bundles, Tomlin Orders, supplemental statements (at the Defendant's request), instructed Counsel, prepared cost details for summary assessment and prepared for and attended the trial.

I really do think that there needs to be more recognition by the judiciary of the amount of work that goes into preparing these cases. Indemnity costs are meant to penalise the Defendant for acting unreasonably - the reality was that it cost them very little and us / our client a lot.

As a practice, we are now considering doing no fast-track work at all.