Gordon-Saker receives honorary ACL membership

The Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL) Council has awarded honorary membership to former Senior Costs Judge Andrew Gordon-Saker.

Andrew was the Senior Costs Judge from 2014 to 2024. He was called to the Bar in 1981 and practised from chambers in London and Cambridge, specialising in personal injury and professional negligence.

He was appointed a deputy taxing master in 1994, a costs judge in 2003 and a costs officer of the UK Supreme Court in 2010. He has been chairman or a member of sub-committees of all three rule committees (civil, family and criminal) and of the Civil Justice Council.

Andrew was one of the assessors appointed to assist Lord Justice Jackson on his review of fixed recoverable costs in 2017 and was the vice-chairman of the Civil Justice Council working group on guideline hourly rates. He sat regularly as an assessor on costs appeals in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

He was an editor of Butterworths Costs Service from 2006 to 2014 and an editor of the White Book from 2012 to 2024.

ACL chair Jack Ridgway said Andrew Gordon-Saker was a hugely reassuring presence on the bench for all sides – you always knew you would receive a fair and courteous hearing, while many of his rulings have provided valuable guidance for costs practitioners. He has been a staunch supporter of the ACL and Costs Lawyers for many years and it is now a great privilege that we can call him an honorary member of our Association.

Andrew said it is, of course, a huge honour to be admitted to the Association as an honorary member. I have watched the Association and the profession that it represents evolve and grow in stature over the past 30 years. As well as creating the infrastructure of a standalone profession, over that period the Association's members have adapted and developed the new skills necessary as a result of the huge changes to litigation procedure. They can properly be very proud of what they have achieved.