When someone acts in person without a solicitor, occasionally a court will order that his costs be paid by the other party. He is then able to charge for the time he has spent on the case at £9.24 per hour. This is generally know as the LIP or Litigant in Person rate.

It has remained fixed at £9.24 an hour for 15 years and has not increased with inflation. Now, the Jackson Review of Costs in Civil Proceedings has recommended that the rate should increase to £20 per hour.

The final report was published by the Ministry of Justice on 15th january 2010. It runs to some 600 pages, but if you want to read just the 3-page section on Litigants in person, it starts at p 142.