Owen

Owen Poole started out in costs law over 30 years ago, going on to work in both independent costs firms and in-house. A decade ago, he set up OP Costs Drafting and recently completed ACLT’s Costs Lawyer Professional Qualification.

I began my career handling insurance claims before moving into personal injury and later, costs law. By the 90s, I was running a costs team for a central London law firm at a time when it was all very new and most of us were just finding our way. Very few people had any costs qualifications back then and there was no requirement to do so.

After working in-house at a few different firms, I joined an independent costs firm, Lawlords. That was my first taste of truly independent case handling, working with lots of different clients. It was a bit of a culture shock – clients were demanding and often questioned your work. It kept me on my toes and I developed a real expertise.

Ten years ago, I decided to set up my own business, OP Costs Drafting. We’ve slowly grown over the years and there are now 11 of us handling everything from housing disrepair, clinical negligence and personal injury cases to marine and commercial litigation.
Costs law has become a lot more professional compared to when I started out. I decided it was time to get a costs qualification to add more professionalism to my business and give clients the security of working with a regulated firm.

It wasn’t my first attempt at qualification. I began studying to become a Costs Lawyer 20 years ago but with a young family and a full-time job it was tough and I didn’t manage it. That experience meant I had no misconceptions about the work I needed to put in when I began the ACLT course this time round.

It was a pleasant surprise to find it was far removed from my experience all those years ago. The course was far more focused on the students, with better support and infrastructure. The studying environment and the support network I had available made all the difference, helping me to qualify in 2023.

While my years of experience mean I am pretty adept at costing files I am instructed on, the course gave me a more rounded understanding and knowledge of costs, covering all areas of law, not just those I’m usually involved in. Despite having many years in costs law under my belt, there are still things to learn, particularly given this is an area that changes all the time.

Much of my work comes from word of mouth and that hasn’t changed, but the qualification does give me a stamp of approval which is a real benefit in terms of demonstrating credibility in the market. That’s especially important when there are still firms operating in the solicitors’ costs market that advertise their costs expertise but are neither qualified or regulated. It also helps when the other side in a dispute knows you are qualified – it means there is a mutual respect between you both.

From a practical perspective, the qualification means that if I get approaches from individuals representing themselves in litigation, I can now legally represent them in court on cost issues – something I wasn’t able to before. My company is also listed on the ACL website and so potential clients sometimes contact us directly that way.

Costs is a great way into a legal career. It’s an area that often gets overlooked despite it being such an important element of litigation and central to law firms’ profitability. Working in costs you get to see hundreds of civil litigation files – more than most solicitors or paralegals will see. That gives you so much exposure on how cases are handled and the innumerable different applications of the law. I work across both routine and complex cases and still find legal arguments coming up that I’ve never seen before.

It’s an interesting job and, even if you choose not to make it your career, it’s a great starting point. We generally recruit our staff at entry level and train them up on the job. For those interested in progressing, I will always offer them the option of studying through ACLT.

For me, beyond gaining the qualification, the ACL has provided me with a fantastic support network and a wealth of resources. Costs is always changing so continuing as an ACL member has helped me to ensure my knowledge remains current.