Costs Lawyer / Solicitor / Associate
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
About us
Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals and over 600 staff based in Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich and Sevenoaks. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups: Real Estate, Corporate Services, Dispute Resolution and Private Client.
We are defined by our Next Level Law proposition. We work with our clients as a proactive partner, horizon scanning and thinking ahead to the changes, challenges or opportunities that they may face.
Next Level Law is also applied to our people. Our collegiate culture means everyone is encouraged to achieve their next level in everything they do. RollOnFriday recently ranked us as the 6th best law firm to work at in 2026.
With our ambition to succeed, comes a strong desire to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, and we are committed to delivering the objectives set out in our ESG strategy. Diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 42% of our partnership.
The team you will join
Our client base is diverse and ranges from individuals to multinational corporations, via legal professionals across the civil litigation sector, with a particular emphasis in the insurance, shipping, commercial litigation, property litigation, construction and social housing sectors.
The work you will be doing
- Prepare/Assess Bills of Costs, draft Points of Dispute/Replies to Points of Dispute, advise clients on settlement parameters and negotiate with opponents
- Costs management - Prepare Precedent H, Precedent R or simplified costs budgeting equivalent, engage in budget discussions and potentially attend hearings
- Prepare Statements of Costs
- Provided ad hoc advice on costs issues
- Keep abreast of legal updates and provide updates to the wider team
- Maintain accurate time-costing procedures
- Ensure compliance with file management
- Provide supervision to team members
Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.
What we are looking for
We are seeking an ambitious, driven and forward-thinking Costs Lawyer or Costs Solicitor
- A strong academic background
- Minimum of 3 years’ experience
- Prior supervisory experience an advantage
- Clear understanding and application of civil procedure rules relating to costs
- Costs negotiation experience essential
- Experience of social housing disrepair and/or Court of Protection preferable.
- Excellent attention to detail together with analytical and organisational skills.
- Committed team player who can adapt well to new challenges.
- Strong ability to work to tight deadlines
- Ability to use own initiative and show sound judgement
- Strong IT Skills - familiar with Microsoft Office applications and document management skills
Hybrid Working
Birketts is a flexible business which has embraced a hybrid working model where our colleagues enjoy a mix of home and office working. This role attracts a split of 60% office days and 40% working from home days per week.
Benefits
As a Birketts colleague, you will be eligible to receive a wide range of benefits:
- 25 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays
- Long Service holiday award – 1 extra week every 10 years continuous service
- Private Healthcare with BUPA (offered after probation is passed)
- Scottish Widows Pension Scheme (5% employer / 5% Employee)
- Staff Profit Share and Individual Performance Bonus Scheme
- Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
- Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
- Paid CSR Day
- Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
- Subsidised gym membership
- Electric car scheme
- Dress for your Day Policy
You can find out more on our website: https://recognition-reward-benefits/
Inclusivity and Culture
At Birketts, our culture is driven by ambition and a commitment to positively impact all the communities we serve. We are dedicated to the success, development, and wellbeing of our colleagues, helping them achieve their goals and seize the opportunities that come with our growth.
Birketts is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is unequivocal: we do not tolerate discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, or sexual orientation.
We pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation that actively promotes equality of opportunity for all, valuing the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, and selection for roles is based solely on individual merit.
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight your costs negotiation experience prominently as this is listed as essential for the role
📊 Quantify your Bills of Costs experience: 'Prepared 150+ Bills of Costs across insurance and property litigation matters'
🏠 Emphasise any social housing disrepair experience as Birketts specifically mentions this as preferable
📋 Showcase your Precedent H and R drafting skills as costs budgeting is a key responsibility
👥 Include supervisory experience if you have it, as the role involves providing supervision to team members
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Prepared 200+ Bills of Costs across insurance and commercial litigation matters, achieving 85% settlement rate without detailed assessment
- •Drafted Precedent H costs budgets for 50+ cases totalling £2.8M in claimed costs, securing court approval in 92% of hearings
- •Negotiated costs settlements averaging £15,000 per case through effective Points of Dispute responses and opponent engagement
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Letter preview — tailored to Birketts LLP
Dear Hiring Manager,
Birketts LLP's reputation as a Top 50 UK law firm with expertise across insurance and commercial litigation makes this Costs Lawyer position exactly the career progression I am seeking. My experience in Bills of Costs preparation and costs negotiation across civil litigation matters aligns perfectly with your requirements for handling diverse client work from individuals to multinational corporations.
My background in costs law includes extensive experience with Precedent H drafting, Points of Dispute preparation, and costs budgeting across various litigation sectors. I have successfully negotiated costs settlements and maintained compliance with civil procedure rules while working to tight deadlines in fast-paced legal environments.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How do you approach preparing a Bill of Costs for a complex commercial litigation matter?
- ›Walk me through the process of drafting Precedent H for costs budgeting
- ›How do you handle Points of Dispute when negotiating costs with opponents?
- ›What are the key civil procedure rules relating to costs that you apply daily?
- ›Describe your experience with social housing disrepair costs work
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time when you had to negotiate a challenging costs settlement
- ›Describe a situation where you had to supervise junior team members
- ›Give an example of when you had to work to a very tight deadline on a costs matter
- ›Tell me about a time when you identified an error in costs procedures and how you handled it
- ›Describe how you stay updated with changes in costs law and procedure
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time when you had to negotiate a challenging costs settlement
Describe a situation where you had to supervise junior team members