Laura Rees suggests it’s time Parliament reviewed the Solicitors Act 1974 to give consumers & solicitors better protection
- Payment for the purpose of s 70 of the Solicitors Act can include the transfer of money in satisfaction of a bill with the knowledge and consent of the client.
- Consent can be given prior to the delivery of a bill and does not have to be a specific figure, and delivery takes place when the deduction is made.
- Whether the client authorised the solicitor to recoup fees by way of a deduction from funds in hand ‘is a question of interpretation of the written contract of the retainer’.
In Menzies v Oakwood Solicitors [2023] EWCA Civ 844, the claimant, Menzies instructed Oakwood Solicitors in relation to a road traffic accident. Oakwood Solicitors acted under a conditional fee agreement (CFA). The substantive case was unremarkable, and damages were agreed with the defendant for £275,000. Following the agreement of damages, Oakwood Solicitors wrote to Menzies enclosing an interim statute bill showing their total costs, an opponent bill of costs showing the potential amounted recoverable
