Solicitor Negligence Claims on a No Win No Fee Basis

You can bring a solicitor negligence claim, if you have received incorrect legal advice that has caused you financial loss. Sometimes solicitors make mistakes which can be resolved quickly and easily. On other occasions, such as if a solicitor missed deadlines, it can be more complicated to put right. 

Suing a solicitor does not always mean spending more in legal fees, straight away as no win no fee options are available for some solicitor negligence claims. Solicitor negligence claims are complex, and you should seek specialist legal advice to help you with your case, as quickly as possible.

What Is Solicitor Negligence?

Solicitors have a duty to carry out their work with a reasonable level of skill and competence. Solicitor negligence happens when the solicitor’s work does not meet the required standard, and a client suffers financial loss. 

Solicitor negligence claims are a type of professional negligence case, a particular area of niche expertise at Samuels Solicitors LLP. 

Can I Sue My Solicitor for Negligence?

You can sue your solicitor for negligence if you satisfy each of the three elements of the legal test for solicitor negligence claims:

• Firstly, the solicitor must owe you a duty of care. Solicitors owe a duty of care to all clients they have a retainer with. Non clients (for example a beneficiary of a will) may still be able to bring a claim for negligence, but this would require specialist legal advice.
• Secondly, the solicitor must have breached their duty of care, by giving you legal advice which is wrong, or extremely poor.
• Thirdly, the solicitor’s breach of duty must have caused you financial loss.

If you can satisfy all three elements of this test, you should be able to bring a claim against the solicitor for negligence, to compensate you for the loss you have suffered.

No Win No Fee Solicitor Negligence Claims 

We understand that it may be difficult for you to fund a solicitor negligence claim, particularly when you have suffered financial loss because of your previous solicitor’s mistakes. In some cases, we can offer you a conditional (no win no fee) agreement, to help you fund your case. 

Under the terms of a no win no fee agreement, you would not have to pay our legal fees unless you win your claim. If you win, our fees become payable and you would also need to pay us a success fee, which usually comes out of the compensation you get from your negligent solicitor. We would discuss the details of a no win no fee arrangement with you in detail, before taking on your case. 

We are experts in dealing with no win no fee solicitor negligence claims and we will consider whether we can act for you on this basis, if you would like us to do so. 

In other cases, we may be able to offer you one of our flexible funding options, to help you with your legal fees, such as deferring payment of the fees until the matter is finished, which would mean us charging interest or a slightly higher hourly rate along the way, or agreeing with you that our fees can be paid by regular monthly instalments. 

There are many different ways of funding a professional negligence claim [/litigation-funding] and our team of experts will be able to find the right option for you. 

Examples of Solicitor Negligence

Solicitor negligence often happens in conveyancing matters, when property is being bought or sold. For example:

• Your conveyancer or solicitor failed to explain conveyancing searches to you properly, meaning you were not aware of issues affecting the value of the property before you bought it; or
• a solicitor made a mistake with the boundaries of your property, which affected its value.

Solicitor negligence can also often happen in the course of civil litigation. For example:

• your solicitor missed a limitation date meaning that you lost your chance to bring a claim against someone;
• your solicitor missed a court deadline, meaning your claim can no longer be pursued, or has to be pursued in a less effective way;
• your solicitor advised you to settle a claim for too little and you did not receive as much compensation as you should have;
• your solicitor said your claim was strong and encouraged you to go to trial, but you lost and had to pay costs or damages to your opponent; or
• your solicitor failed to prepare for trial properly, for example by providing poor instructions to a barrister, which meant you lost your case.

Solicitors can also make mistakes dealing with wills and probate, for example:

• your solicitor did not draft a will properly, meaning more tax had to be paid, or a dispute arose between family members which was costly to resolve; or
• a solicitor did not deal with probate properly, meaning assets such as a house were sold for less than they should have been.

There are many different ways in which solicitors can make mistakes, and we are happy to discuss the specific circumstances of your case with you.

How We Assess Claims Against Solicitors

When you first contact us about your solicitor negligence claim, we will discuss what has gone wrong with your case, and provide you with our initial views. We will then ask you to sign a form, authorising your previous solicitors to talk to us about your matter and request your files from them. There is usually no charge for our initial discussion with you, or for the work we do obtaining your files. 

When we have the files, we may need to make a charge for the time we spend reviewing them, but this is decided on a case by case basis. We would always agree the costs with you before anything was incurred. 

Once we have reviewed your files, we can usually tell you very quickly whether you can claim compensation from your previous solicitors and advise you about your options to take your solicitor negligence case forward. 

How Solicitor Negligence Claims Are Started

The first stage in solicitor negligence cases, is to send your previous solicitor a letter of claim.

The letter of claim must comply with the Pre Action Protocol for Negligence Claims, provide detail of the mistakes your solicitor has made, and explain how those mistakes have caused you financial loss. Your previous solicitor has three weeks to acknowledge the letter of claim, and then a further three months to send a detailed letter in response to the letter of claim. 

After a letter of response is received, we will advise you about the best way forward. Your previous solicitor may offer to settle the claim, and we could advise you to accept the offer, or to make a higher counter offer. If your previous solicitor denies that they have made a mistake, we may suggest that you offer to mediate the dispute, or to start court proceedings. 

Time Limits for Solicitor Negligence Claims

You have six years from the date of the solicitor negligence, to start court proceedings. 

In some cases, you may not discover that your solicitor was negligent for many years. For example, if your solicitor made a mistake when you were buying your house, you might not find out about it until you are selling. If you did not know about the solicitor negligence and have missed the six-year period, you have a further three years from the date you found out that your solicitor made an error, in which to start your claim.

If you miss the time limit for bringing a solicitor negligence claim, you lose your right to sue them for compensation, and you would have to apply to the court for permission to start your claim out of time. The outcome of applications for extra time to sue negligent solicitors can never be guaranteed. 

If your solicitor has been negligent, it is therefore important to act quickly and take independent legal advice as soon as you can. Although six years sounds like a long time, mistakes by solicitors are commonly discovered some years later, and it takes time to obtain files, send a letter of claim, and receive a response from your previous solicitor.

What Compensation Can You Claim?

You can claim compensation against a negligent solicitor for losses that you incurred as a result of their mistakes, including:

• any direct financial losses that you suffered, such as if a conveyancing solicitor didn’t advise you about defects in the title of a property, meaning it is worth less than you paid for it;
• loss of opportunity, for example if a solicitor missed a deadline and you were no longer able to bring a valuable claim;
• extra legal costs, such as increased fees to bring a case to a conclusion, or fees incurred amending documents which were not prepared properly by your solicitor;
• reduced settlement value, where you can claim the difference between the settlement you received, and what you should have got if your solicitor had not been negligent;
• property losses, often called diminution in value, where your property is worth less than it should be, because of a mistake by your solicitor. Examples are if you don’t have a right of way over land, or there are planning or building regulations defects at your property that your conveyancing solicitor should have told you about; or 
• any wasted legal fees you have incurred, for example if a hearing had to be adjourned because your solicitor was not well enough prepared or had not drafted court documents properly.

When solicitors make mistakes, it can be costly to put right. The good news is that solicitors have professional indemnity insurance, so their insurer will pay your damages, and a large proportion of your costs when your solicitor negligence claim is successful. 

Why Choose Samuels Solicitors?

Samuels Solicitors LLP, regulated by the SRA, has for decades helped clients from all over the UK bring solicitor negligence claims, giving us our formidable reputation for handling these cases. 

We have a dedicated team of expert lawyers with a specialist focus on dealing with professional negligence claims, which includes solicitor negligence claims. We also deal with barrister negligence claims, accountant negligence claims and surveyor negligence claims.

Jan Samuel, who founded Samuels Solicitors LLP in 1990, has been a member of the Professional Negligence Lawyers Association for decades and has a niche specialism in this area, leading a team of experienced and expert professionals. If you have a solicitor who needs to be sued for negligence, we are confident that we will be able to help you. 

We have acted for many of our clients under no win no fee arrangements and will be happy to discuss with you whether this is appropriate for your case.

Your next step is to speak to one of our experts about how we can help you.

Speak to Samuels About a Solicitor Negligence Claim

If you think you have a solicitor negligence claim, contact us today for a no obligation discussion about how we can help. 

You can call us on 01271 343457 to speak to an expert, or you can email us with details of your case to mail@samuels-solicitors.co.uk. Alternatively, you can email any of our lawyers directly. 

FAQs About Solicitor Negligence Claims

1. Can I sue my solicitor for negligence?

Yes, you may be able to sue your solicitor if they made a mistake that caused you financial loss. It is not enough to show that you were unhappy with the service, the outcome or the way your case was handled. A solicitor negligence claim usually needs to show that the solicitor owed you a duty of care, their work fell below the standard reasonably expected, and that this caused you a measurable loss.

Samuels Solicitors can review what happened, obtain your previous solicitor’s file and advise whether there is a realistic claim.

2. What are common examples of solicitor negligence?

Solicitor negligence can happen in many different types of legal work. Common examples include missed limitation dates, missed court deadlines, poor advice on settlement, mistakes during conveyancing, failure to explain searches, badly drafted wills, probate errors, divorce settlement mistakes and poor preparation before a hearing or trial.

The key question is whether the solicitor’s mistake caused you financial loss. If the error was frustrating but did not change the outcome or cause loss, it may be a complaint rather than a negligence claim.

3. Can I claim against a solicitor on a no win no fee basis?

In some cases, Samuels Solicitors may be able to act on a conditional fee agreement, often called no win no fee. This depends on the strength of the claim, the evidence available, the likely value of the loss and whether the claim is commercially sensible to pursue.

We are usually able to discuss your case with you for free at the start. If your previous solicitor’s file is large or complex, we may need to charge for reviewing it, but we would explain any costs before they are incurred.

4. How long do I have to bring a solicitor negligence claim?

There are strict time limits for solicitor negligence claims, so it is important to get advice as soon as possible. In many professional negligence claims, the usual limitation period is six years, but the exact date can be complicated and depends on when the negligence happened, when loss was suffered and when you first had the knowledge needed to bring a claim.

You should not assume that you are safely within time. If a deadline has already passed, or may be approaching, urgent advice is needed.

5. What evidence do I need for a claim against my solicitor?

The most important evidence is usually the file held by your previous solicitor. This can include letters, emails, attendance notes, advice notes, court documents, draft agreements, completion statements, settlement documents and records of what you were told at the time.

Samuels Solicitors would usually start by obtaining and reviewing that file. We would then look at what advice was given, what should have happened, whether the solicitor’s work fell below the expected standard and whether the mistake caused financial loss.

6. Should I complain to the Legal Ombudsman or bring a negligence claim?

A complaint and a negligence claim are not always the same thing. The Legal Ombudsman deals mainly with poor service, such as delay, poor communication, billing issues or failure to provide documents. A solicitor negligence claim is usually about recovering financial loss caused by negligent legal advice or legal work.

Sometimes both routes may need to be considered. If you have lost money because of a solicitor’s mistake, it is sensible to take independent legal advice before deciding which route to use.

7. Can I claim if my solicitor advised me to settle for too little?

You may be able to claim if your solicitor advised you to settle a case for less than it was worth and you suffered financial loss as a result. These claims can be complex because it is necessary to look at the strength of the original case, the risks at the time, the evidence available and whether a better outcome was realistically achievable.

A poor result does not automatically mean the solicitor was negligent. The question is whether the advice fell below the standard expected and caused you to lose money.