COSTS LAWYERS & LAW COSTS DRAFTSMEN
Legal Aid costs handled with precision. From instruction to recovery.
From Legal Aid billing to inter partes disputes and costs budgets, get specialist support that works as an extension of your firm.
- Same-day response from our experienced costs specialist
- One-off files or a fully outsourced Legal Aid costs service
- Electronic files, case-management-system access or courier collection
- CCMS billing, Bills of Costs, High Cost Case Plans, Legal Help and LAA Queries
Speak with Hannah Bevan
Costs Lawyer & Co-director
Established 2010 • Supporting law firms across England & Wales
Discuss your Legal Aid costs work
Tell us briefly what support you need. Hannah or one of our costs specialists will respond the same working day.
Please don’t include client names or confidential case information. We’ll handle your details in accordance with our Privacy Policy
LEGAL AID EXPERIENCE
20+ years
TRUSTED BY LAW FIRMS
38+ firms supported
FLEXIBLE LEGAL SUPPORT
One file or ongoing
ENQUIRY RESPONSE
Same working day
ABOUT TRS LEGAL COSTS
Your outsourced Legal Aid costs team
Legal costs can be complex. Since 2010, our costs lawyers and law costs draftsmen have supported law firms across England and Wales with Legal Aid billing, inter partes costs, costs budgeting and specialist costs advice.
For your civil and family Legal Aid teams, we bring our expertise into your day-to-day workload – preparing claims for approval, progressing them through CCMS and responding to subsequent LAA queries. Whether you need support with one file, overflow work or regular billing, we work around your practice to support your legal aid billing requirements.
01
Capture the full value of your work
Known for accuracy and professionalism, we achieve strong recovery rates with low rejection levels. Delivering reliable, responsive, and tailored cost management services for every legal challenge.
02
Reduce avoidable LAA queries and rework
Our specialists prepare accurate, well-presented claims with current LAA requirements and assessment scrutiny in mind.
03
Expand capacity without increasing headcount
Whether you need help with one urgent file, overflow work or ongoing support, TRS becomes a dependable extension of your team.
MORE THAN A DRAFTING SUPPLIER
Start with one file.
Build into regular support.
Built for small to large Legal Aid firms that want dependable capacity from people who understand their practice, systems and expectations – without another permanent internal role.
- Consistent point of contact and clear communication
- Flexible across one-off files, overflow and regular work
- Familiar with LEAP, SOS, Proclaim, Clio and DPS
✓ START WITH ONE FILE
Get specialist help with an individual claim, bill, budget or costs issue.
✓ CLEAR OVERFLOW WORK
Bring in support when your team is stretched or workloads increase.
✓ MAKE US PART OF YOUR TEAM
Build a regular outsourced service around your practice and the way you work.
SPECIALIST LEGAL AID COSTS SUPPORT
From your first claim
to your most complex case.
Work with our experienced costs lawyers and law costs draftsmen across every stage of your civil and family Legal Aid billing.
01 / BILLING & CLAIMS
Everyday Legal Aid billing
Keep billing moving with specialist drafting and claim preparation.
CCMS billing and claims
Bills of Costs
Legal Help submissions
Exceptional Legal Help claims
03 / ASSESSMENTS & QUERIES
Support after the draft
Continue with the same team when a claim needs further attention.
Court assessment procedures
LAA assessments and queries
Returned or rejected claims
Reassessments and post-drafting support
02 / HIGH-COST CASES
High Cost Case planning
Experienced support for complex matters and changing case plans.
Hourly-rate High Cost Case Plans (HCCPs)
High Cost Case Plan revisions
Care Case Fee Scheme (CCFS) planning (events based plans)
04 / OUTSOURCED SUPPORT
Your Legal Aid costs team
A flexible extension of your practice, shaped around the support you need.
Single files and overflow work
Regular outsourced billing support
Preparation-only or full CCMS progression
Ongoing responses to LAA queries
END-TO-END LEGAL AID COSTS SUPPORT
Specialist support across the full costs journey
From Legal Help submissions to complex High Cost Cases, TRS can prepare one matter or manage your firm’s full ongoing costs workload.
CCMS Billing & Claims
Preparation, approval, submission and progression of claims through assessment and payment.
Bills of Costs
Detailed and compliant Bills of Costs for civil Legal Aid work, prepared with recovery and scrutiny in mind.
High Cost Case Plans
New and revised HCCPs, supporting fee estimates and responses to Legal Aid Agency queries.
CCFS Case Plans
Preparation of case plans for care cases and assessment of the most financially beneficial events model.
LAA Queries & Reassessments
Returned or rejected claims, assessment reviews and appeals, reassessments and subsequent LAA queries.
Ongoing Outsourced Support
A dependable extension of your team for single-file, overflow and regular Legal Aid instructions.
Court Assessment Procedures
Preparation and support through assessment, including submission and progression of bills where instructed.
Legal Help & Exceptional Claims
Legal Help submissions and Exceptional Legal Help claims prepared and submitted for payment.
A TEAM YOU CAN WORK WITH
Experienced specialists.
A personal working relationship.
Work with our experienced costs lawyers and law costs draftsmen across every stage of your civil and family Legal Aid billing.
Hannah Bevan
Costs Lawyer & Co-director
Heads the High Cost Case team. Over 20 years’ experience dealing with the Legal Aid Agency, with particular expertise in family and immigration matters.
Tim Russell-Smith
Founder & Law Costs Draftsman
Founded TRS after more than 25 years as a law costs draftsman. Brings extensive experience in civil costs and the practical needs of law firms.
Gareth Lewis
Senior Law Costs Draftsman
Over 30 years’ experience in civil litigation costs, including high-value bills, complex assessments, solicitor/client disputes and Precedent H budgets.
Natasha Andrzejuk-Smith
Family & High Cost Cases
Qualified as a solicitor in 2011. Natasha focuses on family costs and high-cost cases, while supporting Hannah with the firm’s day-to-day administration.
Petra He
Legal Aid Billing & Case Planning
Petra previously headed a civil and Legal Aid department in London, bringing powerful experience in Legal Aid billing and High Cost Case Plans to TRS.
Alex Stowell
Law Costs Draftsman
Over 30 years’ experience in civil costs, complex Legal Aid matters and high-value commercial litigation, with work spanning the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
Chris Skoczek
Senior Costs Draftsman
Chris brings over 20 years’ experience managing a solicitors’ costs department. Handles civil and family costs, Legal Aid claims and High Cost Case Plans.
Amy Toomer
Legal Costs Team
A Fellow of CILEx since 2016. Amy brings a background in residential property law and has been developing her legal costs expertise at TRS since 2022.
Esme Phillips
Management & Business Development
Esme supports management, business development and service quality. Joined TRS in 2013 with 28 years’ private-sector experience, helping the firm operate efficiently.
TRUSTED BY ESTABLISHED LAW FIRMS
A snapshot of what law firms say about TRS Legal Costs
STRAIGHTFORWARD TO GET STARTED
Less administration.
And support beyond the draft.
Work with our experienced costs lawyers and law costs draftsmen across every stage of your civil and family Legal Aid billing.
01
Discuss the work
Tell us about the service, timescale and level of support you need. We’ll explain the next steps.
02
Share your files
Use electronic transfer, your case-management system or paper files with courier collection and return.
03
Review and approve
Your specialist prepares the agreed bill, case plan or claim. Legal Aid claims come back to you for approval.
04
Progress and follow-up
We handle the agreed follow-up. For approved CCMS claims, this can include progressing payment and answering LAA queries.
Your files. Your systems. A familiar way to work.
LEAP · SOS · Proclaim · Clio · DPS · Alphalaw · Law Fusion
We regularly use these systems and are happy to learn yours. Electronic files and paper files are both welcome.
BEFORE YOU GET IN TOUCH
A few useful answers.
Have a question about a particular file? Talk it through with Hannah.
01600 719 161
What makes TRS Legal Costs different from other firms?
We are an independent, specialist practice with significant experience. Our clients value our accuracy, personal service, and consistently high recovery rates. We’re big enough to handle complex cases but small enough to offer a personalised, responsive approach.
What does a Costs Lawyer or Costs Draftsman actually do?
A Costs Lawyer or Costs Draftsman specialises in preparing, managing, and negotiating the legal costs of a case. This includes drafting detailed bills of costs, advising on cost budgets, and handling disputes to ensure that solicitors recover the maximum amount they are entitled to.
Why do solicitors use legal costs specialists instead of handling costs themselves?
Legal costs are a highly technical area of law, with strict rules and deadlines. By outsourcing costs work to TRS Legal Costs, solicitors save time, reduce the risk of errors, and improve recovery rates — freeing them up to focus on progressing their clients’ cases.
What types of cases can TRS Legal Costs assist with?
We work across all areas of civil litigation, including personal injury, clinical negligence, family law, housing, probate, immigration, and high-value commercial disputes. We also handle Legal Aid matters, high-cost case plans (HCCPs), and complex publicly funded cases.
Do you offer support with cost management and budgeting?
Absolutely. We prepare accurate cost estimates, budgets (Precedent H), and provide ongoing cost analysis throughout a case. This helps solicitors comply with court requirements while protecting profitability.
Can you assist with Court of Protection Deputy bills
Absolutely. We draft Court of Protection bills for professional deputies, ensuring compliance with SCCO guidance and maximising recoverable costs under fixed or detailed assessment regimes.
How do you justify exceptional costs or uplifts?
We craft persuasive, evidence-based narratives tailored to the case’s complexity, urgency, and procedural demands, helping secure uplifts and exceptional funding approvals
Can we start with just one file?
Yes. We can help with a single file, overflow work or an ongoing outsourced costs service. You do not need to move all your work to us to get started.
How quickly can you turn work around?
For standard Legal Aid files, we aim for a 15-working-day turnaround. Urgent or priority work can be arranged on request. Tell us your deadline so we can discuss the timescale for your matter.
How much will the service cost?
We offer an introductory rate of 4% of profit costs as drawn for your first three files. After that, fees depend on the type and scope of work required, whether you need support with a single file or an ongoing outsourced service.
Contact Hannah today by phone or our enquiry form to discuss your requirements and receive a tailored quote.
Which Legal Aid areas do you cover?
All civil legal aid including family, housing, immigration, asylum, mental health, court of protection, inquests, public law and more. Please call us today or reach out on our enquiry form above and we will be able to help with more details.
Can you submit and progress CCMS claims?
Yes. We can prepare your CCMS claims, return them to you for approval, then submit and progress them for payment once approved. We also respond to subsequent LAA queries.
If you prefer to manage submission yourself, we can prepare the claims and return them to your team to submit.
How do we get our files to you?
Files can be sent electronically and we can directly access case management systems or arrange a courier for collection of physical files.
How do I get started or request a quote?
Just send us brief case details via our enquiry form or email, we’ll respond with tailored advice and a transparent cost estimate.
WIDER LEGAL COSTS EXPERTISE
Support beyond Legal Aid
Our same specialist team can support other civil costs requirements across your practice.
INTRODUCTORY RATE FOR YOUR FIRST 3 FILES
Experience the TRS service at 4% of profit
costs as drawn.
Start with one of your next civil or family Legal Aid files. If the relationship works, TRS can become the outsourced costs department your firm relies on.
Prefer to talk? Call us now on 01600 719 161
01600 719 161
info@trslegalcosts.co.uk
Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm
Singleton Court Business Park
Wonastow Road Industrial Estate (West)
Monmouth, NP25 5JA
TRS LEGAL COSTS LIMITED
Company no. 07263448
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