Costs Lawyer

The successful candidate will join the Costs department.The department are instructed on a wide range of cases dealing with legal costs from the outset of the matter through to the final costs recovery either justifying or opposing them. Working as an integral part of the firm’s Disputes teams gives them a valuable insight into costs disputes both pre and post the dispute, whether it be arbitration, litigation, mediation, or more specialised proceedings e.g. adjudication.

The role

Reporting to the Head of Costs, the successful candidate will manage a busy and varied caseload spanning a broad range of civil and commercial disputes, including international matters, within a global firm.

Key responsibilities

The role will be varied and include:

• Preparation of Schedules of Costs/ Statements of Costs/Bills of Costs before all divisions of the High Court, Court of Appeal, Arbitrations Tribunals (including International Arbitration), Supreme Court, Privy Council and County Courts.
• Conduct of detailed assessment proceedings to include drafting Points of Dispute and Replies.
• Preparation of Summary Assessment Statements of Costs.
• Advising on security for costs applications and drafting supporting schedules of costs/drafting response submissions to schedules of costs served.
• Preparation of client estimates, Precedent H/Z Costs budgets, Precedent R budget discussion reports, Precedent T and advising fee earners on the same. Advising on costs orders/awards to be made and drafting supporting/opposing submissions.
• Providing a general advisory service to the partnership/fee earners on contentious costs.
• Advising on and negotiating with counsels’ clerks as to brief fees.
• Maintain costs “library” of cases/ preparing updates to the firms disputes teams on costs related issues.
• Any other ad hoc duties as may be required.

Key skills & experience required

• A minimum of five years’ experience estimating/budgeting future costs is a key requirement, ideally gained from within a legal partnership or LLP environment.
• Experience of commercial, maritime and insurance law would be advantageous.
• Membership of The Association of Costs Lawyers is preferred.
• Excellent written, communication and interpersonal skills; tactful and diplomatic in pressurised situations.
• Collaborative and team orientated.

Additional information

This role profile is designed to be indicative of the sort of work you will do and the experience we seek. It does not form a contractual description of the role and we reserve the right to make changes to meet the needs of the firm.

HFW aims to ensure equality of opportunity and we are actively working towards improving the diversity of our staff. All applications will be considered only on merit and the applicant’s suitability to meet the requirements of the role.

HFW collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants to manage its recruitment process. The firm is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations. For information on how the firm will process your data, please view our Privacy Notice , under the section “What we collect and how we use it”.

Published

08 October 2026

Job Type: Legal

Location: London

Department: Costs

Role: Permanent

About HFW

HFW is a global law firm with deep, sector-focused expertise. We have over 700 lawyers working across 22 offices spanning the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. We take a progressive approach to our role in commercial business – thinking creatively and pragmatically to support our clients.

Whether we are solving complex issues within the construction, aviation or shipping industries, or providing advice across insurance, commodities and energy we are specialist lawyers here to add value to our clients. We think about the commercial solution first, and then underpin our advice with a solid foundation of legal expertise.

We are; entrepreneurial, creative and collaborative.

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