Short answer (for Google & busy fee-earners):
A costs draftsman converts your team’s work into recoverable, CPR-compliant costs by drafting Bills & e-Bills (Precedent S), Points of Dispute/Replies, Precedent H/R/T budgets, N260s, and costs-only (CPR 46.14) packs — then running negotiations to settlement or preparing a DA-ready bundle. Result: higher recovery, cleaner cash flow, fewer write-offs.
Who we serve: DMD Costs works B2B with solicitor firms only — standard-basis (non-FRC) files. No advocacy; no lay clients.
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• Bills of Costs & e-Bills (Precedent S)
Accurate phase coding, persuasive narratives, tight maths/VAT, and clean disbursement proofing that settles or survives DA.
• N260s (interim applications)
Summary-assessment ready schedules served on time to bank costs mid-case.
• Budgeting — Precedent H / R / T
Assumptions that survive CCMC, BDRs that frame the hearing, and variations that reflect real scope change.
• Points of Dispute & Replies
Particularised arguments on rates, proportionality, necessity, conduct, vulnerability/complexity — not boilerplate.
• Part 36 strategy & settlement
Offer sequencing that creates leverage, protects interest/penalties, and closes the gap before DA.
• Costs-only & DA support (CPR 46.14 / Part 47)
When damages settle first: we prep costs-only packs, serve N252, and negotiate to agreement — or hand you a DA-ready bundle and brief counsel. (We don’t provide advocacy.)
Outcome: your recorded work becomes recoverable inter partes cash — without pulling fee-earners off litigation.
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• Vague narratives → invite “global” percentage cuts.
Fix: phase-linked, issue-based narratives that prove necessity & proportionality.
• e-Bill miscoding → hidden time, VAT/disbursement errors.
Fix: clean phase mapping, disb categorisation, internal QA.
• Late N252/PoDs drift → leverage & interest lost.
Fix: timetable control and negotiation cadence.
• Missing disbursements → experts/counsel/process-server dropped.
Fix: exhibit everything; explain aborted/duplicate attends (HDR surveys, NIHL tests).
• Rates & proportionality under-argued → needless reductions.
Fix: GHR-anchored rates + evidence-led proportionality narrative.
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Standard-basis (non-FRC) only. Drafting + negotiation support for solicitors:
• Bills & e-Bills (Precedent S): persuasive narratives, correct coding, DA-ready.
• PoDs/Replies: particularised paragraphs that move numbers.
• Budgeting (H/R/T): protective yet proportionate; BDRs that frame the CCMC.
• Interim & costs-only: N260s and CPR 46.14 Part 8 packs to get paid faster.
• Negotiations to settlement: staged offers, settlement wording, interest & certificates.
• DA support: replies packs, skeleton points, counsel brief (no advocacy).
Free trial (HDR or MOD NIHL): we’ll draft the bill/e-bill and run negotiations to settlement on one live file.
B2B only • No advocacy • No lay clients • Standard basis only.
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• Housing Disrepair (HDR): damp & mould, access/vulnerability evidence, surveyor loops, ADR conduct (post-Churchill).
• MOD NIHL (military hearing loss): matrix is damages only; costs remain standard — service-records disclosure, audiology/occ hygiene experts, disease-phase clarity.
• PI / Industrial Disease / Clinical Negligence / Credit Hire: issue-driven proportionality, expert/disclosure mapping, Grade A supervision where justified.
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In-house: salaries, software, training/CPD, QA, holiday cover, util risk.
Outsource to DMD: pay-per-file, always-current CPR/PDPD, scalable capacity, specialist negotiation, DA-ready outputs.
Unless you’re running very high, steady volumes, outsourcing typically wins on both net recovery and cash-flow speed.
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1. Send a live file (bundle + timesheets via secure portal/SFTP).
2. Scope same day: assumptions, timetable, offer plan.
3. Draft → serve → negotiate (and if needed, list for DA).
4. Funds received to your client account → our invoice follows.
Security: GDPR-aligned processes, least-privilege access, NDAs available.
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Do you take fixed-cost (FRC) files?
No. We focus on standard-basis matters. (If a case touches FRC, we’ll ensure Part 36 and any permitted departures/adjustments are handled correctly — but we don’t run FRC-only work.)
Do you attend detailed assessment?
We prepare DA-ready bundles and brief counsel; we don’t provide advocacy.
Can a costs draftsman add value mid-case?
Yes — N260s for interim apps, timetable control, negotiation cadence, and costs-only (CPR 46.14) post-settlement.
Do you handle high-value clinical negligence budgets?
Yes — Precedent H with reasoned expert scope and defensible Grade A supervision where appropriate, plus Precedent R that frames the CCMC.
What’s the free-trial catch?
None. One HDR or MOD NIHL file free: we draft the bill/e-bill and run negotiations to settlement. Judge us on recovery and speed.
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Email info@dmdcosts.co.uk with “FREE TRIAL – HDR/MOD”. We’ll send the secure upload link and start scoping today.