The costs of taking a costs dispute all the way to a full detailed assessment hearing can be ridiculously expensive and the outcome incredibly difficult to predict.

The idea of mediation in costs disputes therefore has considerable merit, although I’ve yet to try it myself.

Philip Hesketh has been offering a mediation service specifically for legal costs disputes for some time and is offering a free conference call/seminar on this subject on 13 December 2010: see flyer.