The solicitor had agreed a resolution of a complaint, but failed to implement it. The case was returned to the Law Society who imposed a andpound;5,000 penalty. He complained that the OSS had no jurisdiction to entertain the renewed complaint because it related to conduct occurring after the termination of his retainer, and that the penalty was the maximimum amount, and as such was inappropriate.
Held: The OSS had jurisdiction. The natural and grammatical meaning of the provision is that the power applies in relation to any matter in which the solicitor or his firm have at any time been instructed, and the agreement related to a matter which had involved instructions from the client. As to the penalty, there is no room for a purely punitive element in an award, but there is for what at common law would be aggravated damages – compensation which reflects not only the stress and inconvenience caused by the misconduct but its persistence and contumacity. A mistake would require the penalty to be reconsidered, but andpound;5,000 is not a large sum, and provided due regard is had to the fact that it is the ceiling, a policy of reaching it in exceptional cases was not wrong.
Judges:
Lord Justice Sedley Lord Justice Ward
Citations:
[2003] EWCA Civ 788, Times 28-Jun-2003, Gazette 31-Jul-2003
Links:
Statutes:
Solicitors Act 1974 37A Sch 1A
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Main Judgment – Haycocks v The Law Society (Costs) CA 17-Jun-2003
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Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Legal Professions
Updated: 16 August 2022; Ref: scu.183709
