Nicholas Lee

Paragon Costs

Nick is Managing Director, a Costs Lawyer and an Accredited Mediator. He is the founder of Paragon Costs Solutions and Legal Costs Resolutions. He has specialised in costs since 2001.

Nick is a Past President of Bristol Law Society. He is a Trustee for Quartet Community Foundation, chairing their Finance and Investment committee, and a Trustee for Bristol Old Vic. He is also on Lexis’ Dispute Resolution Panel.

Nick is Chair of the Ethnic Solicitors South West Network which won the Diversity, Inclusion & Wellbeing Initiative of the Year at the Bristol Law Society 2024 Annual Awards.

Nick worked in-house from 2001, initially attaining Associate status, and thereafter becoming Director of Costs and then an Equity Partner.

In 2011, Nick created Paragon Costs Solutions which now has offices in London and Bristol. Clients have included many top 100 law firms, niche commercial practices, local authorities, insurers and international banks.

Advocacy, technical support, business development and client management are his primary responsibilities. Known for always being commercial and practical, colleagues and clients appreciate how thoroughly Nick assesses the merits in any claims, before giving his experienced and realistic advice.

Nick specialises in high value and complex commercial litigation. He is a regular advocate in the High Courts.

Reported Cases include

Cooke and others v Woodchurch House Limited [2023] EWHC 3318 (SCCO)

Micula and others v Romania [2023] UKSC 2018/0177 (23 May 2023)

Reed v Woodward Property Developments Ltd & Anor [2023] EWHC 36 (SCCO) (12 January 2023)

Bocacina Ltd v Boca Cafes Ltd [2014] EWHC 26 (IPEC).

Contributed to

1

Challenging funding arrangements—general principles

Practice Notes

This Practice Note is concerned with challenges to funding arrangements associated with retainers and considers what is the definition of a funding arrangement (ie a retainer-based funding arrangement or a separate contractual funding agreement between the client and a non-legal representative third party funder (also known as a pure funding arrangement)), and why its parties would want to challenge a funding agreement or a funding arrangement. It also covers how to challenge a retainer-based or pure funding arrangement including establishing the terms of the funding arrangement using disclosure and other means. Finally, it considers common challenges to retainers, and two types of funding agreements: conditional fee agreements (CFAs), damages based agreement (DBAs) as well as pure funding arrangements with professional litigation funders (contract based funding agreements), including challenges based on champerty.

Dispute Resolution