A leading authority on regulation has warned that solicitors face being prevented from correcting their own mistakes, following a landmark ruling by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).
Gregory Treverton-Jones QC says law firms will be forced to send clients to another firm rather than put things right at their own expense when they identify an error.
Passing on the client will usually prove more expensive for the client and ‘drag matters out’, says Treverton-Jones, who is co-author of The Solicitor’s Handbook.
His warning is prompted by an SDT ruling, SRA v Howell Jones LLP (11846-2018) in which a law firm ended up sanctioned by the tribunal despite its best efforts to remedy its mistake, a course of action which had been approved by the firm’s insurers.
In a case involving alleged conflict of interest, Howell Jones LLP consented to an agreed outcome under which the firm paid a £5,000 fine and costs to the SRA of £26,850.
Briefly the background of this matter involves Howell Jones LLP’s handling of a Divorce case where it is alleged that a financial settlement was reached as a result of poor advice by the firm. The firm agreed to refund all invoice fees and disbursements to the client. The firm acted for the client in a failed attempt to have the settlement set aside and a costs order was made against the client in the sum of £35,000 on an indemnity basis. In reaching the decision the Deputy District Judge did not agree that the advice given by the firm was bad. The Firm failed to advise their client of a right to appeal the decision within 21 days of the failed application. The client subsequently complained to the Ombudsman and was awarded £50,000.
The overall cost to the firm being prevented from correcting their own mistakes and/or its insurers of having behaved honestly and honourably throughout must have been around £150,000’.
Treverton-Jones also suggests the decision is contrary to authority, adding: ‘The SRA does not seem to consider that an own-interest conflict can be cured by the sort of pragmatic solution that has been in place for decades. The only winners will be professional negligence lawyers.
Extracts from Law Gazette and by DWillis
