What is a "Final Statute Bill"?

Question: What is a 'final statute bill'?

Answer: A final statute bill is a formal, compliant invoice from a solicitor to a client which includes all of the costs and disbursements (things like medical records, court fees, Land Registry fees etc.) from the beginning of the case to its conclusion.

It is governed by the Solicitors Act 1974 which requires it to be clear, signed and most importantly, delivered to the client.

Question: I think I may have received one but I'm not sure - what should a final statute bill contain?

Answer: A final statute bill should clearly identify:-

1. The costs incurred by the solicitor (i.e., the costs of the work done on your case plus any disbursements)
2. The costs recovered from the third party (including disbursements)
3. The sums that the solicitor is requiring the client to pay

This is supported by paragraph 46 in the judgment of Karatysz v SGI Legal LLP [2022] EWCA Civ 1388 in which the Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos set out what the contents of a final statutory bill should be:-

46. The Client argues that certainty is needed. I agree. Properly drawn bills ought in future to state the agreed charges and/or the amounts that the solicitors are intending by the bill to charge, together with their disbursements. They should make clear what parts of those charges are claimed by way of base costs, success fee (if any), and disbursements. The bill ought also to state clearly (i) what sums have been paid, by whom, when and in what way (i.e. by direct payment or by deduction), (ii) what sum the solicitor claims to be outstanding, and (iii) what sum the solicitor is demanding that the client (or a third party) is required to pay

Double check it's a compliant final statute bill – sometimes solicitors will send an invoice which may look like a final statute bill but one of the three elements above are missing. For example, we represented the client in the matter of Hensley v Morris Law Ltd [2024] EWHC 1101 (SCCO). Mr Hensley was provided with an invoice which did not contain the costs that were recovered from the third party. The solicitors argued that the invoice was a compliant bill and did not need to identify the costs recovered from the third party because there was no practical need.

The judge held that the invoice was not a complete bill because it failed to show all the fees that the law required. Ultimately, the court stressed that a solicitor cannot decide on their own whether a client might bring a costs assessment – if a bill is requested, a bill must be delivered!

Question: I think I've received a complete final statute bill and I want to issue court proceedings, what can I do about it?

Answer:Firstly, you need to check whether you are within time to challenge your bill. The clock starts running when a bill is delivered to you. If a bill is delivered to you by email, the delivery date is the same day. If a bill is delivered to you by post, it is the day you received the bill.

Time Limits from when the bill is "delivered" :-

• Within 1 month – you have an automatic right to an assessment by the court. During this month, the solicitor cannot initiate court proceedings to recover the sum of the bill from you.

• Between 1 and 12 months – if the bill has not been paid (which means fully paid) you can still apply for an assessment by the court but it is at the court's discretion rather than an automatic right. The court's discretion is usually exercised in your favour. If the bill has been paid in full you will need to demonstrate "special circumstances"

• Over 12 months – if the bill has not been paid you can generally only apply for an assessment by the court if you can prove "special circumstances". If the bill has been paid, you have no right to assessment after 12 months.