Lawyers for the BBC have recorded their disapproval at the ‘grossly unreasonable’ costs incurred so far by Sir Cliff Richard in his legal action against the broadcaster. The singer is suing the BBC over reports naming him as a suspected sex offender and is claiming damages. The total pre-action legal bill is estimated to come […]

A judge has refused to back down after slashing costs for a clinical negligence case where the damages were a fraction of the amount claimed. Claimant firm Thompsons Solicitors had originally served a bill of costs for £72,320 after settling a case for £3,250. That costs figure was reduced to £24,600 after a provisional assessment […]

A judge has ruled that global law firm Dechert’s £16m legal costs estimate for its work with mining company Eurasian National Resources Corporation (ENRC) was ‘highly unrealistic’. In an order handed down at the end of last month following a private hearing, Master Jason Rowley at the Senior Courts Costs Office said there was a […]

A solicitor who admitted having no understanding of accounts rules has been struck off for overcharging clients. Edgar Stephen George Thomas, who ran a practice in Pembrokeshire, said he had never worked out the average cost of a probate matter and had not updated his ‘rubbish’ client care letter for a decade. Thomas was charged […]

A solicitor has been struck off the roll for ‘deliberate, calculated and repeated’ dishonesty – including overcharging a client by 500%. A disciplinary tribunal found that Premji Naran Patel, a sole practitioner at Alliance Solicitors, had ‘systematically abused’ client monies, overcharged for work and had deliberately misled his clients. According to the tribunal, he overcharged […]