Costs draftsmen and negotiators for claimant solicitor firms.
Costs, done right. DMD Costs is a firm of law costs draftsmen based in Greater Manchester, instructed by claimant solicitor firms across England and Wales, drafting and negotiating standard-basis (non-FRC) costs — bills, e-Bills, Points of Dispute, Replies and negotiation to settlement. Your fee-earners stay on the claim; we maximise recovery and reduce write-offs.
Prefer to talk? Call 07503 992804 or email info@dmdcosts.co.uk.
Know the fee
before we start.
Send one live Housing Disrepair, MoD NIHL or clinical negligence matter. We quote a fixed fee before any work begins — no hourly billing, no surprises.
- 1 Send the papers
- 2 We quote a fixed fee
- 3 You approve, we draft
- Who we act for
- Claimant solicitor firms across England and Wales. B2B only: never tenants or lay clients.
- What we do
- Bills of costs and Precedent S e-bills, Points of Dispute and Replies, Precedent H budgets, N260s and negotiation to settlement.
- Specialist areas
- Housing disrepair, MoD NIHL and clinical negligence costs.
- Costs draftsman fees
- The fee is fixed and agreed before any work begins. Payable on recovery.
- Average recovery
- Above 70% of the bill as drafted, across our settled files.
- Turnaround
- First drafts are normally returned within five working days of complete papers.
- Where we are
- 2 Green Acre, Westhoughton, Bolton BL5 2LL, in Greater Manchester. Call 07503 992804.
Specialist costs draftsmen. Total command of the detail.
Housing Disrepair Costs
Precedent S, PoDs/Replies and settlement-led negotiation. Damp & mould, access & vulnerability, surveyor cycles and ADR conduct — built to survive detailed assessment.
Explore HDR →02 / NIHLMoD NIHL Costs
Standard-basis costs support for military hearing-loss claims. Service-records disclosure, audiology/occ-hygiene experts and matrix alignment on damages with full costs recovery.
Explore NIHL →03 / CLIN-NEGClinical Negligence
Outsource clinical negligence costs drafting and budgeting. Precedent H assumptions that survive the CCMC and bills that protect entitlement at every phase.
Explore Clin-Neg →Upload, track and settle — all in one place.
Instruct us and follow every matter from your own secure dashboard. Send papers, watch the bill, PoDs and offers move, and see costs land — without chasing an inbox.
Bills of costs and negotiation, built for recovery.
As your costs draftsman, we prepare assessment-ready bills, answer the Points of Dispute and take costs negotiation through to settlement, so your fee-earners keep billing the claim. Drafting only: no advocacy and no lay clients.
What does a costs draftsman do?
A costs draftsman (also called a law costs draftsman or costs draftsperson; the older spelling is costs draughtsman) prepares the documents that recover legal costs and negotiates them to settlement: the bill of costs, including Precedent S electronic bills, costs budgets, N260 statements of costs and Replies to Points of Dispute. The work is done for the instructing solicitor, who keeps conduct of the matter, and it stops short of advocacy. Firms usually instruct one once damages have settled and costs are payable but not agreed, or before a costs and case management conference, when a Precedent H budget is due. We are specialist costs draftsmen in three areas: housing disrepair, MoD NIHL and clinical negligence costs.
See our costs drafting services →Three questions firms ask a costs draftsman.
Our law costs draftsmen, directly involved.
20+ years' combined legal-costs experience at leadership level of claimant costs work, from our base in Greater Manchester. Every file is handled by a named practitioner, and the technical guidance on this site is written by the same people who draft the bills. Read how our work differs from a Costs Lawyer's, or meet our costs draftsmen.
New & recent publications
Housing Disrepair Costs in 2026: Are HDR Claims Still Standard Basis?
A practical guide for claimant solicitors on standard-basis recovery, fixed costs, N252, Precedent S and CPR 46.14 costs-only proceedings.
Read →MoD NIHLMoD NIHL Costs After Matrix Settlement: why the matrix doesn't cap your costs
Why a damages-matrix settlement doesn't fix recoverable costs — and how to draft, evidence and negotiate the bill to settlement.
Read →Guideline ratesSCCO Guideline Hourly Rates 2026: what claimant firms need to know
The 2026 rates for solicitors, and how claimant firms justify rates, grades and proportionality when recovery is challenged on assessment.
Read →Send one live file. Get a fixed fee before we start.
One live Housing Disrepair, MoD NIHL or clinical negligence file. We quote a fixed fee up front, draft the bill and run the negotiation to settlement. B2B only — no lay clients.