Kain Knight’s longest serving costs lawyer, Richard Banks, shares what’s changed over the past 37 years and why he loves being part of the Kain Knight family.
Richard Banks began his career with the firm on 3rd January 1985, when Kain Knight was known as MB Kain + Co. At that time, there were just 10 Costs Draftsman (as they were known then) in two offices, including the company’s founder, Michael Kain. Fast forward 37 years, and Richard is now part of a team of over 70 people.
In this article he shares what’s changed about the profession and why he’s stuck around at Kain Knight!
Early years
Richard left school at 16, having not had the easiest of times and having come to the conclusion that “school and exams wasn’t for him”. He very quickly got a job as a ‘Solicitors Clerk’ with a local high street firm, Nockolds Solicitors in Bishop Stortford, who are still going strong today. “I took my last exam on the Friday and started at the firm on a Monday, after giving myself the weekend off. I knew I wanted to work in an office environment, and I was prepared to roll my sleeves up and work hard to make a career for myself” explains Richard.
He worked in the Probate and Court of Protection departments at the firm where his first foray into legal costs was “pretty much measuring the thickness of a file to help work out what the bill should be.” He remained at the firm for nearly 3 years, before deciding he needed a change of scenery. “Working at Nockolds gave me a love of the law, and after seeing an advert by MB Kain + Co for a Costs Draftsman I thought I’d apply. I was interviewed by Michael Kain himself. I say interview, he’d learnt I was a Goalkeeper and I secretly think he just wanted me to fill a vacancy on the firms’ football team!”
The Legal Costs Revolution
“I received one-to-one training so I could get to grips with the plethora of different costs rules that applied to different cases. There were no CFAs, instead we had Green Forms, Legal Aid Forms, different County Court and High Court scales for costs…and costs were calculated on a ‘letters in and letters out’ basis. Solicitors rarely time recorded and what costs were recovered came down to how well you could write a persuasive case narrative at the end of your Bill of Costs.”
“Throughout my career I’ve seen some major changes in the field of costs law. Order 62, significant changes to Legal Aid; and of course, the introduction of the Woolf Reforms in 1999 which was the start of the legal costs revolution.”
“I’ve also had the privilege of training and mentoring many draftsman and Cost Lawyers who have moved onto other firms who still remain in contact and on occasions ask my advice”
Working as part of a quality team
“Kain Knight and its people feel like family to me. I have strong relationships with my colleagues and also clients, many of whom I’ve worked with for over 25 years. A few of my colleagues are snapping at my heels in terms of their ‘long service’ medals. Chris Butler, John Staab, Chris Paget and Graham Higgins have also been with the firm for 20 years plus. I think this says a lot about the firm, it’s people and values.”
Kain Knight strengths
“The importance of delivering a quality service was instilled in me from day one. Do the job right, and clients will come back to you. This ethos works and is reflected by Kain Knight’s high quality client base. I’m surrounded by good people who have huge amounts of knowledge. We regularly share that knowledge as part of internal Knowledge Hub. Being a consultant gives me a degree of flexibility that I might not get elsewhere, but my priority it to always deliver a high-quality service to clients.”
“Kain Knight is a friendly, happy company to work for. I have a real pride in the work I do, and I feel needed and appreciated too. These are the reasons that I’m still here after 37 years!”
If you would like to find out more about becoming a Kain Knight Costs Consultant, contact us matthew.kain@kain-knight.co.uk or call and speak with him, in confidence, on 01279 715676.
