Established in 2004, DeNovo is recognised as one of the UK’s leading legal costs practices, with significant experience in commercial, clinical negligence, and solicitor-own client costs disputes.
Through our costs monitoring and costs management services we also assist our private clients – significant users of UK legal services – to exercise effective control over their legal costs spend and to make substantial savings.
The DeNovo team can be contacted by phone on 020 3633 6827 or by email on
Afqar Dean
Costs Lawyer and Director
Tel: +44 (0)20 3633 1273
Mob: +44 (0)7753 628664 (24 hours)
In a career spanning over three decades, Afqar has been involved in many prominent legal costs disputes. Afqar has been instructed in numerous cases involving sports stars, musicians, actors, politicians, as well as a former Prime Minister. Afqar also advises on solicitor/client costs disputes.
Dr Michael Heslin
Director
Tel: +44 (0)20 3633 1472
Michael is a director and has been a legal costs consultant for more than 25 years. He holds three degrees in law - a unique achievement for a practicing member of the legal costs profession. Michael’s experience of large and massive-scale costs claims may well be unequalled (he has personally prepared, advised on or defended, more than 100 £million plus costs claims), and continues to lead on our larger or more demanding projects.
Fidelma Padfield
Senior Legal Costs Draftsman
Tel: +44 (0)20 3633 6837
Fidelma is a double science graduate having gained first class honours in both (Fine Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals and Infections Diseases). Fidelma has in excess of 20 years' experience in legal costs, having worked for Stewarts Solicitors before joining DeNovo in 2004.
Jane Coady
Costs Lawyer
Tel: +44 (0)20 3633 6747
Jane joined DeNovo in 2011 from a Dublin law firm where she was Head of Civil Litigation. Jane became a Costs Lawyer in 2017.
John Heslin
Costs Draftsman
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3633 7315
John Anthony is a Mathematics graduate who spent over 20 years' working within the legal Banking & Finance sector prior to re-training in Costs and joining Denovo.
Hannah Coady
Costs Draftsman
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3633 6827
Hannah is our newest team member, having joined Denovo in 2023.
David Rogers
Solicitor and Arbitrator
Tel: +44 (0)20 3633 6827
A former partner at leading City practices, David has both national and international insurance litigation experience. David is a qualified arbitrator.
Education/admissions
Afqar is involved in the firm's diversity initiatives and a keen advocate for social mobility and opportunities for all.
Afqar was amongst the first in our profession become a regulated Costs Lawyer. He enjoys rights of audience in relation all costs proceedings.
Afqar is also an accredited training provider.
Experience and notable cases
Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) –v- Iraqi Airways Company (IAC) – Following the longest running commercial case in the history of the English courts I prepared KAC’s massive costs claim, one the largest ever to reach the doors of the Senior Courts Costs Office. Legal costs claim of >£40M.
Pharma patent litigation – I was instructed by a leading global law firm on behalf of the successful parties in patent infringement and revocation proceedings involving some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Legal costs claim of >£5M.
Telecoms patent litigation – I was instructed by a top tier specialist firm of patent litigators to prepare various complex costs statements following trials and appeals involving some of the world’s largest technology corporations. Legal costs claim of >£10M.
High-profile costs claim following failed £100M civil recovery proceedings – instructed by a market leading international litigation team acting for a foreign citizen whose worldwide assets were subject of a civil recovery claim brought by the National Crime Agency (NCA). My team and I prepared a number of high value interrelated claims for costs on behalf of the successful party . Legal costs claim of >£5M.
Excalibur Ventures v Texas Keystone – The case generated several decisions of wider importance in the legal costs field (relating to security for costs, indemnity costs, and the availability of a non-party costs order against professional funders – a point on which the Association of Litigation Funders also intervened). I prepared the successful party's costs breakdowns and provided witness statements in support of its security for costs applications. Following the conclusion of the substantive litigation I prepared the defendant’s £20M> costs breakdown.
Challenge to remuneration and expenses of joint administrators – instructed by a market leading international litigation team: I was instructed to prepare a detailed challenge to the charges of a global financial consultancy and their advisers (including two high-profile international law firms), in connection with the administration of a UK energy supplier. The application for assessment of fees and expenses of >£5M under the Insolvency Act 1986 was the first significant challenge of its kind in 20 years.
Education
LLB (Hons) – University of London (1994)
LLM (Distinction) – University of East Anglia (2018)
PhD (law) - University of East Anglia (2024)
Professional and research interests: Costs law and practice, litigation funding, responsibility theory, vicarious liability, products liability, litigation practice, philosophical foundations of tort law. My doctoral thesis examined relationships between (pre-moral, pre-legal) outcome responsibility and strict tortious obligations of repair. Time permitting, future research output will address aspects of costs law and practice, third party litigation funding, as well as approaches to responsibility for harm caused by intelligent products (for ‘algorithmic accidents’).
