Kimberley Heath

Profile

After almost a decade of Legal Aid billing, I have worked in various costing roles (all of which have involved dealing with aged UPOA certificates). Presently, I am based in the City of London office and manage a team of Costs Draftspersons specialising in the preparation and/or progression of High Costs Case Plans (hourly rates) to the Legal Aid Agency.

In previous positions, I have prepared Bills of Costs and claims in multiple categories of law including Family, Community Care, Housing, Public Law, Inquests and Judicial Review. I have also been actively involved in the submission of Controlled Work (Legal Help and CLR) claims, and have experience of drafting High Costs Case Plans (CCFS) and Inter Partes Bills of Costs.

Education

I qualified as a Costs Lawyer in 2018, when I was also awarded “The ACL Cup” for highest scoring student in my cohort.

In 2010, I completed a 4-year LLB Law (Hons) degree at Nottingham Trent University and graduated with Distinction. Following this, I enrolled on the Legal Practice Course (LPC) at BPP Law School, London and graduated with Distinction in 2011.

In 2002-2006, I completed A-Levels (in English, History, French and Maths (AS only)) and GCSEs at Ashby School in Leicestershire.

Career

After completing the LPC, I was employed as a Paralegal within a busy Social Welfare department. This is where I learnt the fundamentals of Housing and Community Care law. In April 2014, I transferred to the firms’ Billing Department, which is where my costs career began. Initially, I was tasked with drafting and processing a variety of Legal Aid Claim 1, 1A and 2s (as CCMS had yet to be introduced). Over time, I progressed to the drafting of 3-column Bills of Costs and took over co-ordination of Inter Partes billing, which involved liaising with external Costs Draftspersons. Whilst in this role, and in 2015, I commenced the 3-year ACL Costs Lawyer Training Programme.

In 2016, I moved to a larger firm and continued my training as a Costs Lawyer, and qualified in 2018. In this position, I drafted and processed both family and non-family Legal Aid Bills of Costs (for both paper and CCMS certificates). Additionally, and as part of my continued supervised practice, I prepared a selection of 6-column Bills of Costs and Inter Partes schedules of costs.

Thereafter, in 2018, I took a Billing Manager role in North London, where I was responsible for managing a team engaged in preparing both Controlled Work (Legal Help and CLR) and Certificated claims in Immigration, Public and Family Law. Within this role, I was also involved in direct liaison with the firm's Legal Aid Contract Manager.

I joined an external Legal Aid costs consultancy company as a Costs Lawyer and Regional Manager in 2019 and, in addition to drafting Bills of Costs (Legal Aid and Inter Partes), claims and High Cost Case Plans (CCFS), I supervised a team responsible for processing the same for multiple clients to the Legal Aid Agency.

I joined Cost Law Services in March 2023 as a Costs Lawyer and Legal Aid Assistant Manager, where I presently manage a team of Costs Draftspersons and also support the training of colleagues. I also liaise with Senior Management and am involved in progressing aged UPOA certificates.

Interests

I enjoy spending time with my husband and daughter. We enjoy National Trust walks and visits to local and national toddler friendly attractions. I also enjoy musical theatre and holidays (both stay-cations and overseas travel).