- CPD Points: 1 [E]
- Price: $79.00
- Area: Legal Skills & Technique; Risk Management and Liability
- Delivered: December 2025
Digital Content
- Podcast
- Materials Booklet
To purchase login below
Description
In this podcast, Charlotte Morson, Principal Solicitor, The Legal Costs Consultants discusses the following. Poor communication about costs is a common source of complaints, even in simple hourly or fixed-fee matters. The challenge is greater with conditional (“no win, no fee”) agreements, increasingly used beyond personal injury. These agreements affect cost structures and hinge on defining “success,” highlighting the need for clear communication and strong understanding of ethical obligations and client impacts.
The following supporting materials are provided with this August 2024 podcast:
- Infographic
- Session Summary
- Presenter Bios
- Test Your Understanding of the Session
Podcast Takeaways
- Accurate and ongoing cost disclosure is essential. Although uncertainty is common, the Uniform Law requires a single cost estimate, not a range. Estimates must be updated throughout the matter to maintain transparency, manage client expectations, and remain compliant.
- Early non-disclosure can sometimes be remedied. A little-used rule allows solicitors to correct certain disclosure failures within two weeks of becoming aware of them, provided the omission would not have affected the client’s decision to engage the solicitor.
- Conditional cost agreements demand clear, plain-language explanations. Solicitors must carefully explain conditional agreements, including dispelling myths about “no win, no fee” and clearly outlining any costs the client may still bear if the case is unsuccessful.
- Timely disclosure and strong regulatory knowledge are critical. Cost disclosures must be given shortly after receiving instructions. Practitioners should stay familiar with the Uniform Law, relevant rules, and current costs judgments to ensure compliance and reduce risk.
- CPD Points: 1 [E]
- Price: $79.00
- Area: Legal Skills & Technique; Risk Management and Liability
- Delivered: December 2025
Digital Content
- Podcast
- Materials Booklet
To purchase login below
Description
In this podcast, Charlotte Morson, Principal Solicitor, The Legal Costs Consultants discusses the following. Poor communication about costs is a common source of complaints, even in simple hourly or fixed-fee matters. The challenge is greater with conditional (“no win, no fee”) agreements, increasingly used beyond personal injury. These agreements affect cost structures and hinge on defining “success,” highlighting the need for clear communication and strong understanding of ethical obligations and client impacts.
The following supporting materials are provided with this August 2024 podcast:
- Infographic
- Session Summary
- Presenter Bios
- Test Your Understanding of the Session
Podcast Takeaways
- Accurate and ongoing cost disclosure is essential. Although uncertainty is common, the Uniform Law requires a single cost estimate, not a range. Estimates must be updated throughout the matter to maintain transparency, manage client expectations, and remain compliant.
- Early non-disclosure can sometimes be remedied. A little-used rule allows solicitors to correct certain disclosure failures within two weeks of becoming aware of them, provided the omission would not have affected the client’s decision to engage the solicitor.
- Conditional cost agreements demand clear, plain-language explanations. Solicitors must carefully explain conditional agreements, including dispelling myths about “no win, no fee” and clearly outlining any costs the client may still bear if the case is unsuccessful.
- Timely disclosure and strong regulatory knowledge are critical. Cost disclosures must be given shortly after receiving instructions. Practitioners should stay familiar with the Uniform Law, relevant rules, and current costs judgments to ensure compliance and reduce risk.
Charlotte Morson, Principal Solicitor, The Legal Costs Consultants
About the Presenter:
Charlotte Morson is the principal solicitor of The Legal Costs Consultants, an innovative law practice specialising in the area of legal costs. Charlotte’s specialty is complex costs disputes. Her firm excels in the quick preparation of large Bills of Costs including those involving apportionment of costs, and in preparing quality legal submissions in respect of all manner of legal costs issues. She is retained by many of Australia’s top law firms in complex, multi-million dollar costs disputes, including class-action litigation, and is regularly appointed as a legal costs expert in both Supreme Court and Federal Court jurisdictions. Whilst often busy working on large-scale matters, Charlotte is committed to assisting the profession in all aspects of legal costs. Often answering the office phone line personally, she is happy to assist with all manner of legal costs questions. Charlotte is a regular contributor to the Law Society Journal, is a member of the Law Society of New South Wales’ Litigation and costs committees, and President of the St George Sutherland Shire Regional Law Society.
David Turner, Lawyer, Assured Legal Solutions
About the Presenter:
David Turner has a gift for teasing out people’s stories, so it’s no wonder he is Hearsay’s host. With a double Bachelor of Arts and Laws from Macquarie University, he is also an MBA candidate at UNSW’s Australian Graduate School of Management. When he isn’t interviewing people on Hearsay, David is a lawyer at Assured Legal Solutions, a boutique financial services law firm located in Sydney’s CBD. Prior to joining Assured, he was called to the NSW Bar, and is a former President of NSW Young Lawyers and a former Councillor of the Law Society of NSW. David spends the little downtime that he has left reading historical fiction and tinkering on home improvement projects. David’s bio can be accessed on the Assured Legal Solutions website.
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