Civil Justice Council group backs higher guideline hourly rate band for complex litigation
A Civil Justice Council working group in England and Wales has given provisional backing to a new Band 1A of guideline hourly rates for extremely complex, high-value commercial and corporate litigation, and to guideline rates for assessing counsel's fees. A consultation on both proposals opened October 20, 2026, and closes January 19, 2027.
Text (Law Gazette) → · Civil Justice Council
Key points
- The new band would sit above the existing guideline hourly rate bands without redrawing them.Law GazetteCivil Justice Council
- The working group gave no indication of what rates Band 1A could allow.Law Gazette
- The current top rate, London 1, is £579 an hour for solicitors and legal executives with more than eight years' experience.Law Gazette
- A minority of members warned a higher band could harm access to justice, noting existing rules allow uplifts.Law Gazette
- The Senior Courts Costs Office has not offered guideline fees for counsel since 2009.Law Gazette
- Lord Justice Miles chairs the group, set up in 2024 to take forward the Civil Justice Council's 2023 costs review.Law GazetteCivil Justice Council
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Civil Justice Council
Law Gazette