Robert Marven KC > 4 New Square Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile

4 New Square Chambers
LINCOLN'S INN
LONDON
WC2A 3RJ
England

Living Wage

Position

Robert Marven is a specialist in all areas of costs law. He is also an expert on the law concerning the funding of litigation. He has been instructed in a range of high profile cases in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the Senior Courts Costs Office and the County Court. Robert also has considerable experience in mediating costs and related disputes both as a representative and as a mediator.  Robert’s practice includes: costs issues arising from high value litigation; conditional fee agreements and contingency fee agreements; commercial funding for substantial disputes; costs budgeting and funding for major group litigation; legal expenses insurance and ‘after the event’ insurance; fixed costs; costs budgets and estimates; costs capping; as well as wasted and non-party costs orders. Robert acts for a wide range of clients including PLCs and public bodies, solicitors, major insurers, funders, claims management companies and individuals. He is often brought into major litigation to advise and to present submissions on specific costs issues. Robert provides strategic advice on matters of commercial importance to insurers, solicitors and others involved with the management and funding of litigation. His cases include: Davey v Money [2019] Costs LR 399; JLE (A Child) v Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Kupeli v Cyprus Turkish Airlines & Atlasjet [2018] 4 All ER 434; Hanley v JC&A Solicitors [2018] 4 Costs LR 693; Parvez v Mooney Everett Solicitors Ltd [2018] 1 Costs LO 125; Surrey v Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust [2018] 1 WLR 5831; Plevin v Paragon Personal Finance Ltd (No 2) [2017] 1 WLR 1249; EMW v Halborg [2018] 1 WLR 52; Harrison v Eversheds LLP [2017] 5 Costs LR 931; Cashman v Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust [2015] 3 Costs LO 411; Broni v Ministry of Defence  [2015] 1 Costs LR 111; Tasleem v Beverley [2014] 1 WLR 3567; Ultimate Products Ltd v Woolley [2014] 5 Costs LO 787 and [2014] EWHC 1919 (Ch); Light on Line Ltd v Zumtobel Lighting Ltd [2013] 1 Costs LR 129; Letts v Royal Sun Alliance plc [2012] 3 Costs LR 591; Joyce v West Bus Coach Services Ltd [2012] 3 Costs LR 540; Legal Services Commission v F [2011] 5 Costs LR 740; Rybak v Langbar International Ltd [2011] PNLR 16; Sulaman v Axa and Direct Line [2010] 3 Costs LR 391; Tankard v John Fredericks Plastics Ltd [The Accident Line Protect test cases] [2009] 1 WLR 1731, [2009] 4 All ER 526; Crane v Canons Leisure Centre [2008] 1 WLR 2549, [2008] 2 All ER 931, Days Healthcare UK Ltd v Pihsiang Machinery Manufacturing Co Ltd [2006] 4 All ER 233.

Career

MA (Cantab). Called 1994, Middle Temple.

Education

Felsted School; Trinity College, Cambridge University BA Hons (1993); Inns of Court School of Law (Bar vocational course, 1994); Middle Temple Astbury Scholar (1993).

Lawyer Rankings

London Bar > Costs

(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 2

Robert Marven KC4 New Square ‘Absolutely on top of his field of practice, Robert  provides very commercial advice in an area which still surprises even the most experienced litigators.’

Offering a ‘costs team that is second to none’, 4 New Square Chambers continue to be the pre-eminent set in this area, offering an unparalleled depth of expertise at both silk and junior level and regularly appearing on significant Court of Appeal and Supreme Court cases. Nicholas Bacon KC has recently acted in BSV Claims v Bittylicious Ltd and others, a major CAT class action and the UK’s first crypto-related collective proceedings, with the claim of collusion alleging to have caused close to £10bn in losses. In Belsner v Cam Legal, Benjamin Williams KC led George McDonald , with the pair successfully appealing to reverse the High Court’s decision that solicitors were subject to fiduciary duties when negotiating their own terms and business, entitling solicitors to deduct full reasonable costs from lower value personal injury claims. Both Robert Marven KC and Matthew Waszak acted in AKC v Barking, a significant test case before the Court of Appeal regarding the information bills of costs must contain in order to comply with CPR requirements. Theo Barclay, being led by Bacon KC, represented the Danish Customs and Tax Administration in the highly publicised SKAT litigation, where the costs bill in favour of the defendants on the indemnity basis totalled £46m.