Biography
I am an Associate Costs Technical Specialist and Advocate based at Irwin Mitchell’s head office in Sheffield, supporting clients and colleagues nationwide. Since entering the legal costs field in June 2018, I have developed extensive experience managing costs matters from inception to resolution.
My experience sans the preparation of Bill of Costs, Costs Budgets, Replies to Points of Dispute, Applications and negotiations to settlement. I have worked across a broad range of cases including, serious injury, multi-party matters, international claims, work-place injury, and commercial cases – ranging from modest claims to multi-million-pound matters.
I joined Irwin Mitchell in 2021 working as a Law Costs Draftsman specialising in international and multi-party cases. I was promoted in May 2023 to Costs Technical Analyst and in August 2025 to Associate Costs Technical Specialist.
In my current role, I advise on complex technical costs issues, lead negotiations, deliver training to colleagues and stakeholders, and lead key departmental development projects. As one of our internal advocates, I represent clients at Costs Hearings nationwide for both paying and receiving party matters.
In September 2024, I founded the IM Junior Advocacy Group, a firm-wide initiative supporting junior professionals in developing advocacy, confidence and public speaking skills. The group now has over 80 members.
I was honoured to be named the Women in Costs Rising Star 2025 and spoke on imposter syndrome at the third Women in Costs Seminary before an audience of 130. Since then, I have contributed to panel discussions and external speaking engagements for the Female Lawyers’ Breakfast Network, Ladies of Law, and CILEX.
I am a proud member of CILEX and a passionate advocate for social mobility within the legal profession.
Testimonials
"The two Irwin Mitchell employees, who were dealing with recovering my legal costs issues, David Bush initially and Billie Spooner latterly, soon got a good grip on the key issues and dealt with them in a clear well organised manner. Billie in particularly kept me regularly informed as to how the matters were proceeding, and brought to an eventual conclusion with my costs recovered from the opposing side. It was professionally handled from start to finish. I could highly recommend both people." - Client, 5* Trustpilot review
"Thanks Billie; you’ve been very efficient and have kept momentum with the negotiations and kept me informed" - Senior Associate Solicitor
"I thought you did a great job Billie thank you! Good recovery, swiftly negotiated" - Associate Solicitor
"Morning Billie – thank you for the final info. I was really pleased with your quick and efficient negotiations which resulted in an excellent outcome with a great recovery rate. Many thanks" - Partner
Publications
PI Focus APIL - May Edition
