Margaret McDonald

Practice:

Head of the Costs Team and Civil Team, Margaret’s practice covers costs and personal injury.

Experience:

Margaret is very experienced in the area of personal injury law.  She receives instructions from both national and regional specialist firms.  Margaret has recently settled matters in a substantial group action claim.  She was a member of the Law Society Panel of Personal Injury Specialists during her time as a solicitor.  Her specialist costs knowledge is particularly relevant in summary assessment deliberations post-trial and is valued by instructing solicitors throughout her practice.

Margaret has extensive costs experience from her time as a solicitor.  She has developed her practice as a specialist costs counsel undertaking a full range of costs hearings, including appeals, technical arguments, detailed assessments and summary assessments.  Her written costs practice includes advice and drafting Skeleton Arguments.  She has a particular interest in Conditional Fee Agreements, Collective Conditional Fee Agreements, mis-certification, premature issue, costs estimates, issue based costs orders, non party costs orders and costs capping.

Margaret is an accredited Mediator, having satisfactorily completed a course of mediation training with the London School of Mediation.  The course is accredited by the Civil Mediation Council. Margaret accepts instructions in both personal injury and costs mediations.

Recent cases have involved:

• The linked cases in Ramsey v. Instore in relation to exaggerated costs, mis-certification of costs bills and the 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 Agreement entered into post-November 2005.
• Test case challenges to Collective Conditional Fee Agreements.
• SCCO detailed assessment hearings and appeals
• Detailed Assessment Hearing of Bills up to £11,000,000.00
• An SCCO “costs estimates” case where the bill was £5,000,000.00 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 2010/2011
• Margaret is the Professional Programme Director of the Bar Professional Training Course at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Chambers & Partners:

Margaret was ranked a leader in her field for both Costs and Personal Injury in Chambers & Partners 2012:

"Margaret McDonald is head of costs and civil matters at Kenworthy's Chambers in Manchester. She provides a solid costs offering, particularly in relation to her personal injury practice. Sources describe her as "a tenacious advocate who doesn't give up easily."

"highly recommended" for personal injury work

Chambers & Partners 2011 described her in the Northern personal injury section as "an up-and-coming junior who is well-respected for her robust approach to litigation. She does, however, tailor her approach to each individual case. One instructing solicitor noted: "She knows when to be aggressive and when to back off".