Young Street Chambers
76 Quay Street, Spinningfields
Manchester M3 4PR
Tel: 0161 833 0489
Fax: 0161 835 3938
DX: 25583 Manchester 5
Email: clerks@young-st-chambers.com

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personal injury

Head of the costs team and a member of the civil team, Margaret’s practice covers costs and personal injury.

EXPERIENCE

Margaret is very experienced in the area of personal injury law. She receives instructions from both national and regional specialist firms. Margaret has recently settled matters in a substantial group action claim. She was a member of the Law Society Panel of Personal Injury Specialists during her time as a solicitor. Her specialist costs knowledge is particularly relevant in summary assessment deliberations post trial and is valued by instructing solicitors throughout her practice.

Margaret has extensive costs experience from her time as a solicitor. She has developed her practice as a specialist costs counsel undertaking a full range of costs hearings, including appeals, technical arguments, detailed assessments and summary assessments. Her written costs practice includes advice and drafting skeleton arguments. She has a particular interest in conditional fee agreements, collective conditional fee agreements, mis-certification, premature issue, costs estimates and costs capping.

Margaret is an accredited Mediator, having satisfactorily completed a course of mediation training with the London School of Mediation. The course is accredited by the Civil Mediation Council.

Recent cases have involved:

• A number of linked test cases that have been referred to the Regional Costs Judge in relation to exaggerated costs, mis-certification of costs bills and the status of informal costs schedules
• The key case of Smith v. Patel on mis-certification
• An Appeal in the Supreme Court Costs Office on post “Garrett” CFAR 2000 enforceability issues
• Successfully challenges to new style Conditional Fee Agreements entered into post November 2005
• Test case challenges to Collective Conditional Fee Agreements
• SCCO detailed assessment hearings for bills up to a value of £11,000,000.00
• An SCCO “costs estimates” case where the bill was £5,000,000.00 more than the costs estimate. Margaret is the professional programme director of the Bar Vocational Course at Manchester Metropolitan University.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

• Trainer, Advocacy Training Council (ATC)
• Member of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA)
• NITA-approved advocacy trainer
• Bar Council external examiner
• Accredited Mediator (LSM)