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BOOK REVIEW - COOK ON COSTS 2007

I have had the privilege of seeing a proof for the latest edition of Cook on Costs. This will be the 8th annual edition of this major and outstanding work. Cook on Costs first appeared in 1991.

Those familiar with past editions would be reassured to know that the new edition makes no change to the reader friendly approach.  This edition is as invaluable as any previous one. The law quoted is up to date.  The work is as substantial as any previous edition (the proof copy is 650 pages).  There are sections on all areas of civil costs law and practice, that costs draftsmen and other legal practitioners are likely to need to refer to in their work.  It goes without saying that the author is the foremost authority on costs law and practice.  This is evidenced by the number of judgments where his legal commentary in Cook on Costs is cited. 

To assess the value of Cook on Costs, I undertook a search in the judgments stored on my computer using the words “Cook on Costs”.  This pulled up several pages of judgments.  The extent of which the legal commentary is cited by all levels of courts is testimony in itself to the importance of Cook on Costs.

Cook on Costs is both of practical and academic importance.  The analysis of both statute and case law is outstanding. Michael Cook has succeeded yet again in producing a remarkable work.  The new edition of Cook on Costs should never be far away from the desk of any cost draftsman and should be in the library of every lawyer involved in civil and family litigation.

Murray Heining, Association of Law Costs Draftsman News, November 2006