Solicitor

Whether expressed in terms of contract or tort, a firm of solicitors was required to apply reasonable care and skill in the discharge of the express and implied terms of its retainer by the client, both in terms of the giving of requested or necessary advice and in terms of carrying out the tasks called for by the clients’ instructions. It was often said that solicitors were not liable for mere errors of judgment. That reflected the reality that in any given situation there might be a range of different advice which could be given by solicitors without a breach of their duty of care. Furthermore, in particular where solicitors were resorted to for advice as to the vindication of their clients’ rights, it might be incumbent upon them to identify a range of alternative responses, with advice about their respective costs and risks, rather than simply to advocate a single solution and say nothing about the alternatives.