The High Court of Australia in Bell Lawyers Pty Ltd v
Pentelow (2019) 93 ALJR 1007; [2019] HCA 29 has confirmed that
work performed by in-house lawyers representing their employer in
litigation can be recovered by a successful party.
The general rule for costs recovery is that successful litigants
are entitled to recovery of the costs of professional legal
services actually incurred in litigation. However, a
self-represented litigant may not obtain recompense for the value
of their time spent in litigation. An exception to the general
rule, known as the Chorley exception, permitted a
self-represented litigant who is a solicitor to recover their
professional costs of acting in the litigation. In Bell,
the High Court decided that the Chorley exception no
longer applies in Australia.
