Margaret McDonald (Head of Civil & Costs Team)

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Margaret McDonald is the Head of Civil Litigation and Costs at Kenworthy's Chambers. She is a Deputy District Judge and a Mediator, specialising in costs mediations.

Margaret practices exclusively in costs. She is ranked as a Tier 1 Leading Junior in Legal 500 2022 "Margaret's preparation and thoroughness has to be a huge asset and strength in her achieving considerable success at costs hearings. She is very personable and always willing to assist on an ad hoc basis even if she is not directly instructed on a matter."

She is nationally ranked in Chambers and Partners 2022 which says "Margaret is robust in her submissions and has excellent attention to detail; her written advice and notes following hearings are second to none. It is abundantly clear from the outcomes she achieves, and her post-hearing notes that she is meticulous in her preparation. She's very thorough, misses nothing and provides methodical and logical advice."

She is renowned for her prowess in fact-heavy costs cases, her level of preparation and attention to detail. She is pro-active, pragmatic and realistic.

As a Mediator, she is able to facilitate costs resolution in the most challenging cases. As Counsel she also attends Mediations and Round Table Settlement Meetings.

Margaret undertakes high-value Detailed Assessment Hearings and appears regularly in the Senior Courts Costs Office and before Regional Costs Judges. She also attends Costs Case Management Conferences, Costs Appeals, Preliminary Issues Hearings and Oral Review Hearings following Provisional Assessment.

She also provides advice on all aspects of costs, drafts Points of Dispute, Points of Reply, Joint Statements and Skeleton Arguments.

She undertakes Costs Initiatives specialising in mis-certification and exaggerated claims for costs. She has a wealth of experience and is resourceful, finding solutions to the most difficult costs dilemmas.

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Reported Cases

• Best v Luton [2021] EWHC B2 (Costs)
• Masten v London Britannia Hotel Ltd [2020] EWHC B31 (Costs)
• The linked cases in Ramsey v Instore in relation to exaggerated costs, mis-certification of costs bills and that status of informal costs schedules.
• The linked cases in Bradley v Kone on estimated time and standardised time recording.
• The key cases of Smith v Patel on mis-certification
• Successful challenges to new style Conditional Fee Agreements post-November 2005
• Test case challenges to Collective Conditional Fee Agreements
• Detailed Assessment hearing of bills up to £11M
• Detailed Assessments arising out of catastrophic personal injury claims
• An SCCO 'costs estimates' case where the bill was £5M more than the costs estimate

Professional Memberships & Publications

• Trainer, Advocacy Training Council (ATC)
• National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) approved Advocacy Trainer
• Northern Circuit Advocacy Training Committee
• Bar Council external examiner
• Accredited Mediator (LSM)
• Guideline Costs Rates for Facts & Figures 2012/13
• Professional Programme Director for the Bar Professional Training Course at Manchester Metropolitan University