Last year was a busy year for professional negligence claims Jonathan Wyles predicts more
of the same in 2010
The Woolf Reforms, introduced in 1999, led to a dramatic decrease in the number of proceedings issued. Pre-action Protocols have kept commercial disputes out of the courts. In 2006 and 2007 the number of civil proceedings issued in the High Court was approximately 63,000–64,000. However, in 2008 this increased by almost 10% to 70,200, and in 2009 is likely to be higher.
As with the recession in the 1990s, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of claims brought by lenders against solicitors seeking to recover the losses suffered after the sale of repossessed properties. The fall out from the “buy to let” market, which saw the demise of such institutions as the Bradford & Bingley, is responsible for many of these claims. Property fraud is once again making the headlines. The Law Society has increased the levy to cover the expected call upon the Compensation Fund.
Many solicitors experienced difficulties in securing professional indemnity insurance in October 2009, especially those firms with less
