A solicitor and own client costs dispute is rarely just a disagreement about numbers. It may involve the retainer, the bill, the estimate, the client care letter, the scope of authority, the client’s informed consent, deductions from damages, the effect of settlement, and the relationship between the solicitor’s entitlement to charge and the client’s obligation to pay.
These disputes can be commercially important, professionally sensitive, and procedurally technical. For solicitors, they may involve the recovery of substantial fees and the defence of work properly done. For clients, they may involve a bill which appears excessive, unexpected, unexplained or inconsistent with what they were told. For insurers and professional liability teams, the dispute may overlap with allegations of poor advice, inadequate costs information or professional negligence.
I advise and appear in solicitor and own client costs disputes, including assessments under the Solicitors Act 1974, challenges to retainers, disputes about bills, CFAs, DBAs, estimates, deductions from damages, interim bills, statute bills, contentious business agreements and related professional liability issues.
Why these disputes matter
Costs disputes between solicitor and client can be uncomfortable because they often arise after the main litigation has ended. The client may have won, lost or settled the case, but then discovers that the financial result is not what they expected. The solicitor may have spent years doing the work, only to face a challenge to the right to be paid.
That is why these disputes need early and careful analysis. The first question is usually not “is the bill too high?” The first question is “what is the legal basis on which the solicitor seeks payment?” The answer may depend on the retainer, the bill, the timing of delivery, the nature of the charges, the information given to the client, and the procedural route by which the challenge is brought.
A dispute about the amount of a bill is not the same as a dispute about whether there was a valid retainer. A challenge to a success fee is not the same as a challenge to hourly rates. A complaint about poor service is not the same as a detailed assessment, although the two may overlap.
The earlier the real issue is identified, the better the prospects of controlling the dispute.
When I am instructed
I am commonly instructed where a case raises issues about:
- Solicitor and own client assessments;
- Challenges under the Solicitors Act 1974;
- Retainers and client care letters;
- Conditional fee agreements;
- Damages-based agreements;
- Contentious business agreements;
- Interim bills and final bills;
- Statute bills;
- Gross sum bills;
- Chamberlain bills and bills containing insufficient information;
- Costs estimates and costs updates;
- Informed consent;
- Deductions from damages;
- Success fees;
- Shortfall recovery;
- Termination of the retainer;
- Assignment or transfer of retainers;
- Payments on account;
- Interest;
- Professional negligence overlap;
- Costs of assessment proceedings.
These issues may arise before an assessment is started, after points of dispute are served, at a preliminary issues hearing, on detailed assessment, or on appeal.
Acting for solicitors
Solicitors are entitled to be paid for work properly done under a valid retainer. But when the bill is challenged, the solicitor may need to prove more than the fact that time was spent and work was performed.
The solicitor may need to establish the terms of the retainer, the scope of the client’s authority, the basis of charging, the adequacy of costs information, the validity of the bill, the reasonableness of the work, and the enforceability of any success fee or deduction from damages.
I advise and represent solicitors defending bills and retainers. That includes identifying whether the client’s challenge is procedural, technical, factual or tactical. Some challenges go to the amount of the bill. Others go to the right to charge at all. Those are very different disputes.
A solicitor defending a bill needs a clear strategy. It is often necessary to decide whether to fight every point, concede limited ground, apply to strike out weak challenges, seek an interim payment, or narrow the dispute to the real issues.
Acting for clients
A client may be entitled to challenge a bill where the amount charged appears unreasonable, the bill was not properly delivered, the retainer was defective, the estimate was misleading, the client did not give informed consent, or deductions from damages were not properly authorised.
I advise clients on whether a challenge is available, what procedure should be used, what time limits apply, what documents are needed, and what outcome is realistically achievable.
A good challenge is focused. It identifies the legal and factual weaknesses in the bill or retainer. A poor challenge simply says that the bill is too high. That may be understandable, but it is rarely enough.
The client’s position may be strongest where there is a mismatch between what the client was told and what the client was later charged.
Retainers and authority
Many solicitor and own client disputes begin with a simple question: what did the client agree to pay?
That question may not have a simple answer. There may be a client care letter, a CFA, a DBA, a discounted fee agreement, a funding agreement, an ATE policy, later variations, email exchanges, attendance notes and oral discussions. There may be a dispute about who the client was, what work was covered, whether authority was given, and whether the solicitor acted outside the agreed scope.
I advise on retainer disputes where the solicitor’s entitlement to charge is challenged. These cases often require close attention to documents and chronology. A retainer is not judged in the abstract. It is judged against what happened.
Bills and assessment
A bill is not merely an invoice. In this area, the form and content of the bill may matter greatly.
Issues may arise about whether a bill is a statute bill, whether it is final or interim, whether it contains sufficient information, whether it starts time running, whether it can be challenged, and whether the court has jurisdiction to order assessment.
I advise on disputes concerning the validity and effect of bills, including whether proceedings have been started in time, whether an assessment is available as of right, whether permission is required, and whether special circumstances may be relied upon.
These are technical issues, but they often determine the commercial outcome of the dispute.
Estimates and costs information
A solicitor’s estimate may become central to a later dispute. The issue may be whether the client was given proper information about likely costs, whether that information was updated, and whether the client had a fair opportunity to make informed decisions about continuing the litigation.
The question is not always whether the estimate was wrong. Litigation is uncertain. Costs may increase for good reasons. The more important question is often whether the client was kept properly informed as the case developed.
I advise on disputes involving estimates, costs updates and informed consent, including cases where the client says they would have acted differently had they been given better costs information.
Deductions from damages
Deductions from damages can be particularly contentious. The client may have expected to receive one sum, only to discover that success fees, shortfalls, ATE premiums or other charges have been deducted.
The issues may include whether the deduction was authorised, whether the retainer permitted it, whether the client understood it, whether the deduction was reasonable, and whether the solicitor complied with the applicable requirements.
I advise both solicitors and clients on disputes about deductions from damages, including cases arising after settlement and cases involving CFAs, success fees and shortfall recovery.
Professional negligence overlap
A solicitor and own client costs dispute may overlap with professional negligence, but the two should not be confused.
A client may say that the solicitor gave poor advice about costs, failed to advise about risk, failed to explain funding, failed to update estimates, or failed to obtain informed consent. The solicitor may say that the complaint is really a costs challenge dressed up as negligence.
I advise where costs disputes and professional liability issues overlap. These cases require careful handling because the choice of procedure may affect limitation, evidence, costs exposure, insurance and settlement strategy.
Early advice and preliminary issues
In many solicitor and own client disputes, the most important stage is not the final assessment. It is the early identification of preliminary issues.
Those issues may include whether there was a valid retainer, whether the bill is a statute bill, whether time has expired, whether permission is needed, whether special circumstances exist, whether the challenge is properly brought, and whether particular points should be tried before the assessment proceeds.
I advise on the tactical management of these issues and appear at preliminary issue hearings and detailed assessments.
Who I act for
I am instructed by solicitors, firms, professional liability insurers, commercial clients, individual clients, costs lawyers and parties involved in costs disputes arising from litigation.
I act for both solicitors and clients. That is useful because the strengths and weaknesses of these disputes often become clearer when seen from both sides.
What to send when instructing me
When seeking advice on a solicitor and own client costs dispute, it is helpful to send:
- The retainer or client care letter;
- Any CFA, DBA or contentious business agreement;
- Any funding agreement or ATE policy;
- The bills in dispute;
- Any costs estimates and costs updates;
- Any correspondence about fees, settlement, deductions or complaints;
- Any attendance notes explaining the retainer or costs advice;
- Any payments made on account;
- Any points of dispute and replies;
- Any application notice or order for assessment;
- Any complaint correspondence;
- The amount in dispute;
- The relevant dates, including delivery of bills and issue of proceedings;
- Any hearing date or deadline;
- A short note identifying the real issue.
A short chronology is often particularly helpful.
Instructing me
I am often instructed where a solicitor and own client costs dispute turns on the retainer, the bill, the estimate, the client’s informed consent, deductions from damages, or the procedure for assessment. These issues are best considered early, before the dispute becomes more expensive than it needs to be.
For availability, fee arrangements and urgent enquiries, please contact my clerks at Hailsham Chambers.