John Meehan
Year of Call: 2019
John Meehan is a Barrister at Kenworthy’s Chambers who specialises in
John Meehan has an instant recall of Costs Law and authorities which gives my firm confidence to instruct him in all matters ranging from cases and queries about the MOJ portal to technical challenges in respect of Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs) in high value Clinical Negligence or catastrophic injury cases.
Dominic Finn, Head Advocate at Pure Legal Costs Consultancy
John Meehan is my number one recommendation for Junior Costs Counsel. His knowledge of the ever-changing world of costs litigation is exemplary and his calm and confident manner, in the face of any challenge, is extremely reassuring on tricky cases.
Adam Leyland, JMW Solicitors
John Meehan is my go-to Costs Counsel. His knowledge is exceptional, as is his ability to get to the crux of the issue very quickly. His advice is always measured, never losing sight of the commerciality of the issues for our client.
Victoria Morrison-Hughes, Director at Integral Legal Costs
John Meehan has gone above and beyond to help us resolve the very difficult position we were put in due to mistakes with previous drafts. This has been a massive help. John’s name is on our internal list as a ‘go-to’ costs Barrister.
Brendan Rimmer, Partner at Helix Law
Whenever I am asked to recommend counsel with an interest in costs, I never hesitate to recommend John Meehan. He is friendly, approachable and always makes himself available to discuss any instruction.
Dominic Finn, Head Advocate at Pure Legal Costs Consultancy
John Meehan is diligent, knowledgeable and bullish in all matters, small or large. His assistance and advice have been invaluable on many occasions.
Adam Fenton, Compass Costs
John’s ability to pinpoint key issues in cases is fantastic and his written work is exceptional. Highly recommended.
Adam Leyland, JMW Solicitors
John Meehan is approachable and quick to respond to queries, a pleasure to work with.
Victoria Morrison-Hughes, Director at Integral Legal Costs
John Meehan identifies any issues that need addressing at an early stage of instruction and advises upon them in a clear and concise way. John’s written advocacy is exceptional. It is persuasive, tenacious and demonstrates an attention to detail that leaves no stone unturned.
Dominic Finn, Head Advocate at Pure Legal Costs Consultancy
The costs specialists undertake a full range of work, including points of dispute and costs hearings including appeals, technical arguments, and detailed summary assessments. They undertake work at a national level and regularly appear in the SCCO.
I had the pleasure of working with John Meehan to develop a training programme. He always manages to address all the difficulties surrounding complex subjects within a short time frame and consistently delivers sound training.
Victoria Morrison-Hughes, Director at Integral Legal Costs
His attention to detail combined with his encyclopaedic knowledge of Costs Law means John Meehan is an exceptional advocate on detailed assessment or any costs related hearing.
Dominic Finn, Head Advocate at Pure Legal Costs Consultancy
Fantastic work as usual. Amazing result! Thank you so much for your representation, John Meehan.
Westley George, Senior Costs Enforcement Officer at Slater and Gordon
Civil Litigation and Costs
John Meehan
specialises in Civil Litigation and Costs.
Prior to joining Chambers in 2019, John worked in an award-winning international law firm as a Solicitor-Advocate practising exclusively in Costs. As a former Solicitor with almost a decade of experience, John is tactically astute and prides himself on providing practical and commercially focused advice.
John Meehan handles a full range of Costs matters with expertise on a wide range of issues including litigation funding, fixed costs challenges, conduct issues, proportionality, procedural points of law, and Solicitor and client assessments.
John has substantial experience of representing receiving and paying parties at detailed assessments including in high value, complex and multi-party assessments. He appears frequently before Masters of the Senior Court Costs Office, Regional Costs Judge and in the Appellate Courts. He prides himself on meticulous preparation and attention to detail.
John has detailed and practical knowledge of fixed Costs and is regularly sought out by clients to argue technical Costs issues arising out of such claims. He has developed a busy solicitor and own client practice with a particular focus on assisting Solicitor’s firms faced with challenges from former clients. Following the increase in such challenges, John has been heavily involved in assisting firms to update their funding arrangements and strengthen their business practices.
As a Costs Barrister, John regularly appears at Costs and Case Management Conferences (CCMCs), particularly in high value claims and where disputes have arisen as to Costs budgeting.
John’s Court practice is augmented by his advisory and drafting work, including Points of Dispute, Replies to Points of Dispute and statements of case.
As a regular contributor to the legal press, John has written for LexisNexis and Litigation Funding magazine. In addition, he has provided a wide range of training seminars to legal organisations, including a number of the UK’s top 100 legal firms.
If you have a Civil Litigation or Costs case you need advice or advocacy for, call our Civil Clerks Michael Jones and Alessandro Saporita-Clark on 0161 832 4036, email [email protected], [email protected] or fill out our contact form.
+ Notable Cases
• Acting as junior counsel for the appellant, led by Mr Ben Williams KC, in Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust v Hoskin (2023); a case concerning the requirement for a party to provide a breakdown of medical disbursements when serving a bill of Costs.
• Instructed by the appellant before
the High Court in O’Sullivan v Holmes & Hills LLP [2023] EWHC 508 (QB);
successfully challenging the District Judge’s refusal to dismiss inadequately
pleaded objections to a Solicitor’s bill of Costs.
• Acting for the successful
respondent beneficiary before the High Court in Shepherd & Co Solicitors v
Brealey [2022] EWHC 3229 (KB) in a Solicitor/client costs assessment concerning
the right of the Solicitor to charge for the work done as Executor in the
absence of a charging clause in the will.
• Representing the claimant in
Brierley v Otuo [2023] EWHC 275 (SCCO) and successfully opposing an application
that the solicitor’s bill of Costs was miscertified.
• Instructed by the claimant in
Wilkinson-Mulvanny v UK Insurance Limited [2023], which concerned the proper
approach to the recovery of medical disbursements in fixed costs cases.
• Acting for the successful claimant
in a high value detailed assessment at the Senior Court Costs Office. The bill
of Costs was assessed in excess of the claimant’s Part 36 offer resulting in
significantly enhanced recovery.
• Representing the claimant before
the Regional Costs Judge in Foley v Bowler [2022], establishing the proper
approach to the recovery of medical disbursements in the context of the RTA protocol
following Greyson v Fuller [2022] EWHC 211 (QB).
• Instructed by the successful appellant
in Bingham v Seal Engineering (2021), overturning the decision of the Costs
Judge to disallow a large ATE premium.
• Acting for the successful claimant at detailed assessment and establishing that claims brought pursuant to the Equality Act 2010 are not caught by the EL/PL protocol, leading to a significant additional Costs recovery for the claimant’s Solicitors.
+ Qualifications
John has completed the Bar Vocational Course, achieving an overall grade of Very Competent, and the Legal Practice Course, achieving a Distinction. Upon completion of the Legal Practice Course, John was awarded the BPP Highest Performing Professional award for achieving the highest overall mark in his cohort. John also has a BA in Law with Politics from The University of Manchester.
+ Professional Memberships
- The Bar Council of England and Wales.
- Member of the Personal Injuries Bar Association (PIBA).
- Member of the Employment Lawyers Association.
+ Publications
Belsner v Cam Legal Services Limited – An Important Decision, But Unanswered Questions Remain.
Recovery First - Allocation and Reallocation Webinar
Recovery First – Costs Budgeting Webinar
Recovery First – Success Fee and Accounting to Clients Webinar
Contact Us
To check the availability of Barrister John Meehan for your Civil Litigation or Costs case call our Civil Clerks Michael Jones and Matthew Thomas on 0161 832 4036, email [email protected], [email protected] or fill out our contact form.
