Law Costs Draftsmen Based in Greater Manchester
Our registered office is in Westhoughton, in the borough of Bolton. We are instructed by solicitor firms only, never by lay clients or tenants, and we provide drafting-only support with no advocacy. We prepare the costs documentation and support your team through the process. The instructing solicitor retains conduct of the matter.
What We Do for Manchester Claimant Firms
- bills of costs and Precedent S electronic bills;
- Points of Dispute and Replies;
- costs negotiation through to settlement;
- Precedent H costs budgets, Precedent R reports and Precedent T variations;
- N260 statements of costs for summary assessment; and
- costs-only proceedings under CPR 46.14.
Our three practice areas are housing disrepair costs, MoD NIHL costs and clinical negligence costs, all on the standard basis.
Which Guideline Hourly Rates Apply in Greater Manchester?
Guideline hourly rates are banded by location, and Greater Manchester falls into two bands. GOV.UK puts Manchester (Central) in National 1. Manchester (Outer) and the other Greater Manchester towns on its list are National 2.
| Band | Greater Manchester areas |
|---|---|
| National 1 | Manchester (Central) |
| National 2 | Manchester (Outer), Altrincham, Bolton, Bury, Leigh, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Wigan |
The 2026 rates for the two bands:
| Grade | Fee earner | National 1 | National 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Solicitors and legal executives with over 8 years’ experience | £295 | £288 |
| B | Solicitors and legal executives with over 4 years’ experience | £247 | £247 |
| C | Other solicitors, legal executives and fee earners of equivalent experience | £201 | £200 |
| D | Trainee solicitors, paralegals and other fee earners | £142 | £142 |
Source: GOV.UK, Solicitors’ guideline hourly rates (rates from 1 January 2026).
The bands are identical at Grades B and D, a pound apart at Grade C and £7 apart at Grade A. The band still has to be right. Location arguments are common in Points of Dispute, especially where a firm has more than one office or fee earners working remotely, so the bill should state the band it uses. The full table, and how to justify a rate above it, is in our 2026 guideline hourly rates guide.
How Instruction Works
Send one live file through the secure client portal and we review the papers. The fee is fixed and agreed before any work begins. First drafts are normally returned within five working days of receiving complete papers. Urgent turnaround can be agreed separately before instruction. Unless we agree otherwise in writing, our agreed fee is payable when your firm receives the recovered costs from the paying party.
Who Does the Work
Bills are drafted by the practitioner named on the file. Housing disrepair and MoD NIHL costs are led by Mentor Nika; clinical negligence and budgeting work is subject to senior technical review by Diellza Nika, law costs draftsperson and Managing Director.
Contact
DMD Costs Ltd, registered office 2 Green Acre, Westhoughton, Bolton, England, BL5 2LL. Telephone 07503 992804, email info@dmdcosts.co.uk.