Our Services

At Bridgewater Costs Ltd, we provide comprehensive legal costs and auditing services tailored to the needs of law firms, businesses, and individuals. Our expertise spans all aspects of legal costs from maximising recoveries to robustly defending against excessive claims and now includes specialist legal auditing for funders, firms, and compliance focused organisations.

Receiving Party Support – Maximising Cost Recovery

We specialise in supporting receiving parties (those entitled to recover legal costs), ensuring they obtain maximum recovery efficiently and effectively:

• ✔ Bill of Costs Preparation – Meticulously drafted bills of costs, covering all recoverable items.

• ✔ Supreme Court Bills – Expertise in complex, high-level proceedings with precision drafting.

• ✔ Points of Reply – Persuasive responses to Points of Dispute that protect your position.

• ✔ Negotiation & Settlement – Strategic, early settlement discussions to avoid drawn-out disputes.

• ✔ Advocacy at Detailed Assessment Hearings – Skilled representation to secure fair recovery.

Paying Party Solutions – Defending Against Excessive Costs

For paying parties (those required to pay legal costs), we deliver robust, strategic defences:

• ✔ Points of Dispute – Comprehensive challenges to unreasonable or inflated claims.

• ✔ Negotiation & Settlement – Focused on early resolution and financial efficiency.

• ✔ Detailed Assessment Advocacy – Experienced advocates defending cost liability at hearings.

• ✔ Strategic Cost Management – Guidance on litigation cost exposure and budget control.

Legal Auditing Services – File & Funding Assurance

Our Legal Auditing Division provides specialist file review and compliance auditing services to litigation funders, insurers, law firms, and claims management businesses. We ensure case files are procedurally sound, meet funding eligibility criteria, and present strong prospects.

Our auditing services include:

• ✔ Claim File Auditing – Thorough reviews of legal case files (e.g. clinical negligence, mis-selling, housing disrepair) to assess eligibility, procedural compliance, and risk exposure.

• ✔ Funding & Viability Assessments – Review of case merits and prospects to support litigation funding decisions.

• ✔ Compliance & Data Integrity Checks – Ensuring files meet regulatory and contractual requirements (SRA, GDPR, ATE insurer criteria).

• ✔ Audit Reporting & Recommendations – Detailed written reports including risk grading, red flags, and corrective actions.

• ✔ Panel Law Firm Audits – Ongoing review and quality assurance for panel solicitors or outsourced legal providers.

Whether you're a funder reviewing portfolios, a law firm needing independent oversight, or a claims company verifying claim integrity—we offer the auditing support and due diligence you can trust.

Additional Legal Costs Expertise

• ✔ Precedent H Cost Budgeting – Planning and negotiating accurate budgets to control legal expenditure.

• ✔ Precedent S Bills – Producing electronic bills in compliance with modern court requirements.

• ✔ Solicitor-Client Cost Disputes – Managing disputes under the Solicitors Act 1974.

Why Choose Bridgewater Costs Ltd?

🔹 Specialist Expertise – Deep knowledge of legal costs and auditing frameworks in England & Wales.
🔹 Tailored Solutions – Bespoke strategies for cost recovery, defence, and file auditing.
🔹 Regulatory Insight – Understanding of SRA principles, GDPR, and litigation funding criteria.
🔹 Diverse Sector Coverage – Serving clients in clinical negligence, personal injury, commercial litigation, financial mis-selling, judicial review, and more.

Bridgewater Costs Ltd delivers expert legal costs and auditing services across the Republic of Ireland, supporting both receiving and paying parties in litigation and legal cost disputes. We work closely with solicitors, insurers, corporate clients, and legal funders to ensure compliance, cost efficiency, and procedural integrity.

Receiving Party Support – Maximising Cost Recovery

We help receiving parties (those entitled to recover legal costs) optimise their cost recovery through strategic, fully compliant solutions:

• ✔ Bill of Costs Drafting – Clear, comprehensive, and court-compliant drafting of Bills of Costs under Irish court rules.

• ✔ Points of Reply – Tactical responses to Points of Objection, ensuring your entitlement to costs is preserved and defended.

• ✔ Settlement Negotiation & Mediation – Engaging in early resolution discussions to avoid unnecessary cost-related litigation.

Paying Party Solutions – Defending Against Excessive Costs

We act on behalf of paying parties (those ordered to pay legal costs) to protect their position and avoid unjustified or disproportionate claims:

• ✔ Points of Objection – Detailed challenges to excessive, vague, or unjustified cost claims.

• ✔ Cost Negotiation & Reduction – Working to reduce cost liabilities through direct settlement or formal dispute resolution channels.

• ✔ Cost Risk Advisory – Strategic advice on litigation cost exposure, risk management, and procedural compliance.

Legal Auditing Services – File Review & Funding Assurance

We offer a growing suite of legal auditing services tailored to law firms, litigation funders, and claims stakeholders operating in Ireland. This includes proactive claim file reviews to ensure compliance with legal, funding, and professional standards.

Our auditing capabilities include:

• ✔ Case File Auditing – Review of legal files (e.g. clinical negligence, personal injury, commercial litigation) to evaluate procedural compliance, funding eligibility, and risk.

• ✔ Funding Viability Checks – Determining whether cases meet the criteria for third-party funding or ATE insurance.

• ✔ Compliance Reviews – Ensuring files meet Irish legal standards, Law Society of Ireland regulations, and data protection obligations.

• ✔ Audit Reports – Clear, written audit outcomes with actionable insights for internal compliance teams, funders, or firm managers.

• ✔ Panel Monitoring – Providing ongoing auditing and QA services for organisations managing law firm panels or external providers.

Whether you are a funder assessing risk, a law firm seeking compliance validation, or a client requiring reassurance about your legal service delivery—Bridgewater Costs Ltd delivers thorough, independent auditing expertise.

Additional Cost Services for Irish Clients

• ✔ Cross-Border Cost Consulting – Handling cost disputes involving Ireland, England & Wales, and the UAE.

• ✔ Solicitor-Client Disputes – Advisory support and negotiation in solicitor fee disputes.

• ✔ Multi-Party Litigation Support – Assisting with complex, high-value, or multi-jurisdictional cost claims.

Why Choose Bridgewater Costs Ltd for Legal Costs & Auditing in Ireland?

🔹 Irish Law Expertise – Our specialists are well-versed in Ireland’s legal cost rules, precedents, and civil procedure.
🔹 Integrated Services – We uniquely combine traditional cost recovery and defence work with modern file auditingand litigation funding support.
🔹 Outcome-Focused – Emphasis on early resolution, maximum recovery, and proportionate cost outcomes.
🔹 Trusted Across Borders – We support clients involved in litigation across Ireland, the UK, and internationally.

At Bridgewater Costs Ltd, we deliver specialist Legal Cost Services, Legal Auditing, and Mediation Support for Commercial Litigation across the UAE, including the DIFC, ADGM, and onshore UAE courts. We help law firms, corporates, and litigation funders ensure transparent, justifiable, and strategically managed legal costs, while supporting dispute resolution at every stage.

🔹 Legal Costs Services – Commercial Litigation Focus

We provide expert assistance for both claimants and defendants involved in complex commercial litigation and arbitration proceedings, covering all aspects of cost preparation, challenge, and recovery.

For Claimants & Receiving Parties:

✔ Cost Schedules & Submissions – Accurate and compliant with UAE court and arbitral rules, ensuring recoverable fees are properly documented.
✔ Detailed Fee Note Drafting – Tailored presentation of legal fees for assessment in DIFC, ADGM, or arbitral forums.
✔ Negotiation & Recovery Strategy – Realistic advice and representation aimed at maximising cost recovery through early settlement.
✔ Post-Judgment Cost Enforcement – Support with local enforcement procedures for cost orders.

For Defendants & Paying Parties:

✔ Critical Review of Opposing Costs – Identifying duplicative or excessive billing.
✔ Drafting Cost Objections – Focused and persuasive arguments against inflated claims.
✔ Strategic Advisory – Helping clients manage and limit cost exposure during and after proceedings.

🔹 Legal Auditing Services – Oversight, Value & Compliance

We offer robust legal auditing solutions for corporates, insurers, litigation funders, and law firms needing oversight of litigation costs, billing behaviour, and procedural integrity.

Our Legal Auditing Services Include:

✔ Pre-Litigation Case Audits – Due diligence on the merits, costs and risks before litigation or arbitration begins.
✔ Ongoing Legal Spend Audits – Regular review of file progress, cost efficiency, and strategy compliance.
✔ Performance & Value Audits – Comparing outcomes to legal spend to assess proportionality.
✔ Panel Management Reviews – Auditing panel law firm performance, billing practices, and adherence to service level agreements.
✔ DIFC/ADGM Procedural Compliance Checks – Ensuring full alignment with relevant local rules and cost procedures.

🔹 Mediation Support – Commercial Dispute Resolution

We actively support Mediation as an effective and confidential method of resolving commercial disputes in the UAE. Our mediation-related services promote early resolution and cost-effective settlements.

Our Mediation Services Include:

✔ Pre-Mediation Cost Briefings – Preparing stakeholders for mediation with full cost summaries and exposure analysis.
✔ Mediation Representation Support – Supporting clients in formulating cost strategies and settlement options.
✔ Cost-of-Settlement Analysis – Forecasting outcomes and costs of continuing litigation versus resolving in mediation.
✔ Post-Mediation Documentation – Drafting cost agreements and ensuring enforceability of cost-related terms.

🔹 Why Choose Bridgewater Costs Ltd in the UAE?

✔ Commercial Litigation Specialists – Our deep focus on commercial disputes makes us the ideal partner for cost, audit, and mediation strategy.
✔ DIFC, ADGM & Onshore UAE Expertise – We operate across all major UAE jurisdictions and arbitration forums.
✔ Independent & Objective Oversight – Particularly valuable to funders, corporates, and in-house legal teams.
✔ Bespoke, Strategic Reporting – We produce clear, tailored reports offering insights and recommendations aligned with your business or legal goals.
✔ Trusted by International Clients – We work with law firms and organisations across the GCC, UK, and Europe managing cross-border litigation.