The number of cases brought against law firms by disgruntled clients fell last year, but much of the pain from last year’s spike is yet to be felt, City law firm RPC has warned.
Some 221 High Court cases were brought against law firms in 2015, down from 418 in the previous year (but still up 55% on the 143 cases brought in 2012-13). RPC attribute the drop to cases arising out of the financial crisis—the time limit on the vast majority of claims has now passed.
According to RPC, however, a large amount of potential litigation is still lurking in the background. Many professional negligence cases are now subject to “standstill agreements” which freeze the case without settling or dismissing it.
Joe Bryant, partner at RPC, says: “A large number of property and conveyancing cases are still sitting there dormant for now, whilst the claimants and their legal teams accumulate the evidence they need to bring their cases in front of a court.
“The idea behind standstill agreements is that they give claimants some extra time over and above the official time limits within
