Tony Armstrong

I have spent more than 37 years working within the legal profession, with the majority of my career focused on legal costs and costs recovery. During that time, I have worked across a wide range of legal sectors and supported clients in matters involving personal injury, clinical negligence, matrimonial law, care proceedings, Court of Protection and commercial work.

Alongside my legal work, I have also held leadership and management roles, including establishing and growing my own specialist costs business, which later became one of the largest specialist Costs Agencies in the country. Throughout my career, I have been passionate about developing people, sharing expertise, and supporting colleagues in their professional growth. I have always taken great pride in mentoring others and helping people develop their skills and progress throughout their careers.

The role of a Costs Lawyer is incredibly varied and touches almost every part of the legal profession. Throughout my career I have had the opportunity to work across many different legal areas and support clients and colleagues on a broad range of matters. On any given day, I may be helping bring resolution to a legal claim or supporting the commercial and strategic aspects of running a legal practice. The variety of the role means that no two days are ever the same, which is something I have always enjoyed. I also value the role that effective costs recovery plays in supporting access to justice and ensuring that legal services remain viable and sustainable for those who need them.

My role means that my clients are often the solicitors and teams who instruct me. I focus on achieving positive outcomes through thorough preparation and a pragmatic but firm approach to resolution. Although I may not always work directly with the injured person, I never lose sight of the fact that the work my team and I do ultimately supports individuals who are relying on us to help achieve the best possible outcome.

I am directly supported by our Heads of Department: Ian Gowans, Lissa White-Delf, Hayley Mansfield, Peter Bland, Gary Ratcliffe and Eve Ross.

Collectively, they bring decades of experience across legal costs and a broad range of expertise that supports collaboration across the team. Lissa, Hayley and Peter combine technical leadership with strategic oversight, while Ian provides day to day operational leadership built on more than two decades of experience. Gary leads on technical quality and compliance, and Eve brings extensive legal experience in overseeing and coordinating billing arrangements across the wider group.

Individually they are all excellent, but together they create a collaborative team environment where knowledge, experience and humour are shared for the benefit of our clients.

What I value most about working at Fletchers is the culture. In my experience, there is a genuine sense of support across the business, where colleagues are encouraged to succeed while also supporting one another. There are high standards and strong ambitions, but there is also a clear focus on the people at the heart of everything we do.

Outside of work, I am married and have two grown up sons. As a family, we enjoy holidays, spending time with our dogs, trying new restaurants, and going to the cinema and theatre. I would describe myself as a keen gardener, although my wife would probably say I just enjoy being outside at weekends. I am also a lifelong Liverpool supporter and enjoy watching documentaries.