District Judge John Baldwin sits in the County Court at Liverpool and Birkenhead on a 4:1 ratio including sitting as a Regional Costs Judge, having sat as a Deputy on the Northern Circuit since 2011. Prior to his full-time appointment in May 2014 he practised from Oriel Chambers in Liverpool for 23 years, doing general common law work and latterly specialising in Personal Injury Litigation.
Jon-Paul Burnett is a Director and founder of Carter Burnett with over 25 years’ experience in costs claims. He is also an accredited Mediator and member of the Civil Mediation Council. Jon-Paul has worked on many notable costs cases including Lownds v Home Office, FACT v MOD and Havenga v Gateshead NHS Foundation Trust & Anor. He is a specialist in the preparation of costs budgets in multi-million pound claims and regularly deals with complex brain injury cases including cerebral palsy claims. Jon-Paul has built a strong reputation through his years in practice and is a stalwart of the costs industry.
Iain Thomas was called to the Bar of Gray’s Inn (London) in October 2004. He is an accredited Direct Access Barrister. A meticulous eye for detail allows Iain to provide thorough Advice to his clients. Iain is excellent at addressing clients’ specific issues, which are often complex and then providing Advice in a straightforward manner. In addition to the qualities mentioned, Iain is a very good communicator, which has helped Iain retain longstanding customer relationships.
Steven Turner has over 25 years’ experience handling costs cases for both Claimants and Defendants. He is recognised as a leading costs practitioner by both Chambers UK and The Legal 500, which describes him as: “Steven has an extremely sharp legal mind and a very pragmatic approach. He quickly gets to the nub of the issue and provides clear and concise advice. His advocacy skills are superb, and his easy-going manner is always appreciated by clients and solicitors alike.” Steven has extensive experience conducting detailed assessments and drafting Points of Dispute and Replies. He is highly skilled in navigating electronic bills, with practical, hands-on expertise. He has been instructed in numerous landmark costs cases, including Court of Appeal appearances in: British Airways Plc v Prosser, Phillips v Willis and Bird v Acorn Group .
Kerry Underwood is Senior Partner of Underwoods Solicitors and is the acknowledged expert on funding, costs, legal systems, client care, marketing and advertising of legal practices. Kerry has a particular interest in, if that is the right word, Part 36. He has written hundreds of articles on legal topics and is a regular contributor to Practical Law, New Law Journal and the Law Society’s Civil Justice Section Newsletter. Kerry appears regularly on radio and television and is frequently consulted by senior politicians and senior members of the Judiciary.
Matt Waszak is barrister at 4 New Square in London. He specialises in all aspects of costs litigation and litigation funding, as well as in group litigation and professional negligence. He is recognised by the legal directories as a leading junior, in which he is variously described as “….absolutely phenomenal”, “…one of a few leading junior counsel in relation to costs work” and a “…go-to person below KC level”. Examples of his recent work include: (i) acting for the Ford Defendants in the Pan-Nox Diesel Emissions Litigation, said to be the largest collection of group claims ever seen in the High Court (led by Nicola Greaney KC); (ii) acting for the Defendants in detailed assessment proceedings in the Grenfell Tower Fire Litigation (led by Nicholas Bacon KC); and (iii) acting for the Guaidó Board of the Central Bank of Venezuela in detailed assessment proceedings in the Supreme Court in the Venezuelan Gold Litigation (with Andrew Fulton KC and Mark Tushingham). Matt has a very busy Court practice, in which he regularly appears in the Senior Courts Costs Office, the High Court and the County Court. He is at the cutting edge of the battle lines, developments and trends in this area of work. He has recently been called (on a temporary basis) to the Bar of Northern Ireland. He is a contributing editor to the Costs and Funding Supplement of the White Book (2025).
Ben Williams KC has a wide-ranging civil practice. Ranked as a Star Individual in Chambers & Partners, and nominated as the Legal 500’s Commercial Litigation Silk of the Year for 2023, his reputation as an imaginative problem-solver has seen him instructed in many prominent cases across multiple fields of law, not just in his bedrock area of insurance-related litigation, but ranging from libel (recently acting for the successful appellant in Banks v Cadwalladr), to appeals on statutory interpretation (recently acting for the claimants in test cases on the effect of the Civil Liability Act 2018 on mixed injury claims), to the most recent decision of the Supreme Court on pure economic loss in tort (acting for the successful appellant in Armstead v Royal and Sun Alliance). Ben is particularly well known to many members of the Liverpool Law Society for his expertise in credit hire, costs, civil procedure and the regulation of the solicitors’ profession. He has appeared in most of the leading cases in these areas, including last year acting for the successful solicitor appellant in the so-called “costs case of the decade”, Belsner v Cam. Ben has strong personal links to the north-west, including many instructing solicitors in the area, and has appeared in the Liverpool Civil Courts more than 100 times.
