Dean Holmes is an associate in our Manchester office where he works as a technical legal costs specialist and advocate.
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Dean Holmes is an associate in our Manchester office where he works as a technical legal costs specialist and advocate. He has been practising this specialism since 2005.
Dean’s practice focuses on the legal reform that followed Lord Justice Jackson’s report into civil litigation costs. He also focused on the subsequent implementation of the Legal Aid and Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
Dean’s caseload also involves claims for costs in industrial disease, serious accidents, and clinical and professional negligence as well as commercial disputes. Dean often participates in detailed assessment proceedings, costs and case management conferences as well as mediations and joint settlement meetings.
In his tenure, Dean has advised on a number of reported cases. This includes the correct interpretation of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) Part 36 offers and the consequences in cases involving the application of and escape from fixed costs. In one escalation, Dean took a case to a regional costs judge where he persuaded him that his earlier decision to award indemnity costs was wrong. This was an instance where there had been a late acceptance of a CPR Part 36 offer, and one of Dean’s most notable cases–Whalley v Advantage Insurance [2017].
Dean has also acted for a top 10 insurer in a group of consolidated cases where allegations of civil fraud were made against a solicitor resulting in a substantial discontinuance. He is skilled in advising on the scope of and amount of costs payable in pre-action disclosure applications where fixed costs do not apply, as well as the interplay between CPR Part 31, 45 and 46. In respect to CPR Part 45, Dean provides advice on “exceptional circumstances” within the meaning of Part 45 and the court’s powers to award more or less than those amounts payable in fixed costs cases.
Dean also regularly appears as an advocate in the County Court and Senior Court Costs Office. He deals with provisional assessment review hearings, detailed assessment hearings and costs and case management conferences.