Gallagher Bassett Appoints Industry Leader to Launch In-House Legal Costs Solution

July 2025

Strata Solicitors — a Gallagher Bassett company — has announced the appointment of Matt Booth as Head of Costs, a newly created role that expands the firm's legal capabilities into a legal costs service.

Matt brings more than two decades of experience in legal costs, having started his career at DLA Piper in 2002. He has since held senior roles at Just Costs Solicitors and Waring & Co, where he built a successful internal costs department and developed a strong client base across both claimant and defendant firms. In 2025, Matt founded MJB Legal Costs Ltd, with Strata Solicitors as his primary client. His longstanding relationship with Strata led to his appointment to lead the newly established legal costs department.

"I am excited to join Strata and the Gallagher Bassett family of companies as Head of Costs," said Matt Booth. "I've worked closely with the Strata team for some time now and am excited to establish our in-house costs department to expand the services our clients can access."

By bringing costs drafting in-house, clients will receive a more comprehensive level of service throughout the life of a claim — from inception to cost recovery or cost reduction. The move also embeds Matt's expertise within the business, giving both clients of Strata and Gallagher Bassett wider access to his insights and support.

Chris Sturridge-Packer, director at Strata Solicitors, commented: "We're excited to welcome Matt to the team. His appointment gives us greater capacity to deliver excellent outcomes for our clients — both in recovering costs and in maximising reductions in opponents' costs. Our team is committed to understanding each client's core needs and goals, which enables us to apply our expertise more effectively and pursue the right outcome for every case. This is a step closer to our aim to offer clients a full range of legal solutions when they choose us as their trusted partner of claims management."