Employers
Find out why supporting your employees to qualify through an ACLT programme of study can deliver real benefits for your firm
Develop your existing staff to become Costs Lawyers
Sponsoring your employees through the ACLT course is a financial commitment that benefits your organisation and your team.
- Qualified Costs Lawyers can increase the breadth of work your firm can undertake
- When tendering for work, demonstrating that your team includes specialist Costs Lawyers will hold weight with those procuring your services
- Costs Lawyers are higher fee earners
- An emerging generation of lawyers want to undertake advocacy. Demonstrating your commitment to training in costs advocacy attracts high quality candidates to your firm
- Supporting existing employees to increase their skills and knowledge demonstrates your commitment as an employer and boosts retention
Improve costs knowledge and skills of staff through a course that supports learning while working
Retain your best staff and reduce recruitment costs by supporting their professional development
Qualified Costs Lawyers can charge higher fees for your business, recouping your investment in them
Qualified Costs Lawyers are a crucial part of a team when seeking new business
Choose ACLT as your study provider
Our aim is to create programmes designed to meet the needs of employers and trainee Costs Lawyers. Over 60 firms have sponsored their staff through our qualification and these include national and regional solicitors' firms, specialist costs law firms and other employers from both the commercial and public sector.
We work in close partnership with the Association of Costs Lawyers and the Costs Lawyer Standards Board to ensure our course content meets the needs of the regulator, employers and their employees.
Our programmes are delivered online on a part-time basis, ensuring your staff develop their competences in costs law whilst continuing to work and are thus able to implement new knowledge and skills on the job immediately with your clients.
Our experienced academic team has extensive experience of general and costs law. Tutors are all practising lawyers and long-standing members of the ACLT faculty. The team is well-versed in delivering learning online, through our online learning platform, Canvas, to support learners in an engaging way as they progress through their course.
We recognise that learners on our courses come with a range of prior professional qualifications and experiences and we are able to offer exemptions from components of our courses based on those. This provides both a fast-track route to qualification for learners and a cost effective learning experience for employers.
The Costs Lawyer Professional Qualification
The full, CLSB accredited, qualification takes two years to complete over approx. 1800 learning hours. During this time, your employees will continue to work in their existing roles, developing their experience and on the job skills, under supervision of a qualified Costs Lawyer, solicitor or other legal professional as outlined by the CLSB Training Rules.
The full qualification has three core components made up of several individual modules. The components can be completed as a continuous period of study, but there is flexibility to 'step off' individual components or modules depending on other commitments, in discussion with the ACLT team.
Year 1 - Diploma in Civil Practice
Contract law (8 week module)
Tort (4 week module)
Civil litigation (8 week module)
Professional standards & ethics (4 week module)
Year 2 - Diploma in Costs Law & Practice
Costs pleading & process (12 week module)
Legal aid (4 week module)
Practice & procedure in specialist forums (12 week module)
The lawyer-client relationship & funding arrangements (12 week module)
Year 2 - Award in Costs Advocacy
Costs advocacy (4 week module)
Course fees
(2024/25 rates)
Year 1 fees - £ 2400 + VAT
Year 2 fees (including Award in Costs Advocacy) - £ 4000 + VAT
There is an additional £50 one-off application administration fee payable at the point of application. Applicants will also be required to pay exemption administration fees if they seek exemptions from elements of the course. Exemption will result in a reduction in the overall course fees.