Our role

The State Claims Agency's statutory claims for costs mandate is to manage claims for costs in such a manner as to ensure that the liability of certain State authorities is contained at the lowest achievable level. The State Claims Agency's claims for costs function is delivered by the Legal Costs Unit through two areas; legal costs management and legal costs recovery. The Legal Costs Unit deals with third-party costs of certain State authorities, however so incurred.

Legal costs management

We manage claims for legal costs in such manner as to ensure that the liability of State authorities is contained at the lowest achievable level. We manage and resolve all categories of third-party legal costs claims, whether they arise in the course of our claims resolution work or separately. We also provide legal costs advice to State authorities on third-party legal cost claims.

Our approach

Our legal costs management service is delivered through our experienced team of legal cost accountants. Our approach to resolving legal costs claims is to carefully examine claims received and, wherever possible, negotiate to achieve the maximum possible reduction in legal costs to be paid by the State.

If we cannot successfully agree the level of legal costs to be paid to claimants’ legal representatives, the matter is determined by the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicator, subject to a right of appeal to the High Court.

Legal costs recovery

We pursue orders for a payment of, or contribution towards, State authorities’ legal fees in respect of claim for costs arising in favour of State authorities, to ensure the best possible recovery of costs so that the taxpayer receives the best achievable level of recoupment of the costs incurred in defending the litigation, subject to acceptable financial and reputational risk.

We pursue and manage all orders for payment which are referred to the State Claims Agency's Legal Cost Unit for recovery by a State authority, pursuant to S.I. 191 National Treasury Management Agency (Delegation of Claims for Costs Management Functions) Order 2018, and provisions of the National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2000 and National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2014 (‘NTMA Acts’).

Our approach

Our legal costs recovery service is delivered through our experienced team of legal cost accountants. Our approach to pursing legal cost recoveries is to carefully examine each order received, make an assessment in all cases as to whether it makes economic sense to pursue the costs - as the cost of commencing enforcement procedures might not be justified in all the circumstances - and, wherever possible, pursue costs awarded to the State authority.

If we cannot successfully agree the level of legal costs recovery to be paid by the applicant, the matter may be further pursued via an adjudication application to the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicator