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Solicitor who overcharged by 574% struck off

A solicitor has been struck off after being found by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal to have dishonestly charged an estate “manifestly excessive” fees for probate work – almost nine times the agreed amount. The tribunal heard that, between June 2011 and July 2012, Christopher William Edwin Greenman misappropriated £90,000 as fees from an estate whose […]

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Solicitor who helped himself to money in client account “tidying-up” exercise is struck off

A solicitor who helped himself to client money while carrying out what he claimed was a “tidying-up” exercise of historic client account balances has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. The tribunal decided that Vernon Burke’s actions showed a “lack of moral soundness, a lack of rectitude and no adherence to an ethical […]

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Ten-minute rule: Law firm’s billing ‘unusual’, costs judge declares

A specialist costs judge has ruled that charging for routine work in 10-minute units is ‘unusual’ in litigation and clients should be warned that they are unlikely to recover such fees in full from their opponents. Master Rowley in the Senior Courts Costs Office ordered that the 10-minute units charged by the solicitors be reduced […]

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Judge slashes costs after conditional fee agreement deemed unreasonable and unfair

The Senior Courts Costs Office has thrown out a conditional fee agreement (‘no win, no fee”) deemed to be unreasonable for the client. Master Gordon-Saker said the £420 hourly rate of the law firm which drew up the agreement was more akin to a top fee earner in the City doing complex, high value work […]

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BBC’s fury at £900k pre-action legal costs of Sir Cliff Richard

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 […]

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Struck-off solicitor who fleeced clients of £56k is jailed

A struck-off solicitor has been jailed for two years and eight months after admitting to stealing more than £55,000 from clients. Margaret Barton last month admitted to four charges of theft between 2014 and 2016. She was sentenced to 32 months at Bolton Crown Court yesterday. The 58-year-old conveyancing specialist was banned from the profession […]

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Consumers ‘happy’ with solicitors’ services but price issue remains, SRA says

Vulnerable people seeking help in family law cases generally have a positive experience with solicitors though one in 10 describes their experience as ‘very poor’, according to research published today. The findings appear in independent research into services published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. On the price of services, the report states: ‘Just under two […]

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£72,000 bill for £3,000 claim ‘disproportionate’, costs judge insists

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 […]

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Dechert’s £16m bill in fraud office case ‘unrealistic’ – judge

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 […]

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Solicitor struck off for discussing how young female client could pay off bill with topless photo shoot

A male solicitor has been found guilty of discussing with a vulnerable female client a third his age that she might make good an unpaid bill with a topless photo shoot and possibly sexual activity. Anthony Robert Dart was also found to have watched pornography in his office with her. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal struck […]

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