The solicitors had sent to the client a written fee proposal for a forthcoming case which they said was drafted on ‘the worst case basis’, saying ‘I provided you with a fee proposal which hopefully sets out the fullest extent of your liability to this firm for costs likely to be incurred in the future’. The client said that the solicitor should be bound by this estimate, and he appealed against a detailed assessment of costs. Costs were assessed at the amount shown in the original estimate plus 15%.
Held: The court referred to rules 3, 4 and 6 in the Solicitors’ Costs Information and Client Care Code 1999 and to a number of authorities. A client knows that he will be charged by his solicitor and thus a solicitor who fails to give an estimate should not thereby be disentitled from receiving any fees. The court held the solicitors to the estimated sum plus 15%, but also allowed the solicitor to recover the costs of communications with the client on the basis that these were not covered by the estimate and so (by implication) the Judge reasoned that the client must have expected to pay separately for these communications: ‘It is open to Mr Wong to argue that in determining what is a reasonable amount for him to pay for the work done, regard should be had to the level of costs which he had been led to believe represented a worst case assessment of his potential liability.’
Judges:
Toulson J
Citations:
[1997] 2 Costs LR 46
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Garbutt and Another v Edwards and Another CA 27-Oct-2005
The client challenged his opponent’s solicitors bill of costs, saying that the other side had not been given an estimate of costs. The solicitor acted on several matters for the client and had not given a formal estmate.
Held: The absence of . .
Cited – Reynolds v Stone Rowe Brewer (A Firm) QBD 18-Mar-2008
The solicitors appealed against the assessment of their costs. The judge had found that they had estimated their costs and applied a 15% margin of error.
Held: the judge should have given reasons for his judgment to allow the parties to assess . .
Approved – Anthony v Ellis and Fairbairn (A Firm) SCCO 12-May-2000
The court considered a solicitor’s bill which vastly exceeded the estimate given. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Costs, Legal Professions
Updated: 07 December 2022; Ref: scu.231523