Suing a firm of solicitors who have changed their name

If you have a solicitor negligence claim, it is important that you sue the correct legal entity when you bring your claim. Solicitors firms regularly change their names, alter their business structures from a partnership to an LLP or limited company, merge with others, or get bought out by other firms. In these circumstances, how do you decide who to bring a claim against?

How Do I Know Which Law Firm To Sue?

If the law firm that provided you with negligent advice is still practicing under the same name, then it should be straightforward for you to bring a claim against that firm. You simply use the name of the firm which appears on their headed paper (ideally the retainer letter they sent to you) or on their Law Society listing.

If the law firm has changed their name, you need to identify who the successor practice is, and sue in that name. You can find out this information from the SRA. 

It can be very complex to identify the correct name in which to sue a firm of solicitors, and specialist legal advice should be taken before a claim is issued, if you have any doubt.

If you try to sue for solicitor negligence and use the wrong name for the defendant law firm, it can be time consuming and costly to put the mistake right and a recent case demonstrates that where the six year limitation period for professional negligence cases has passed, it might not be possible to substitute the correct defendant at all. 

What If I Have Sued The Wrong Law Firm?

Civil Procedure Rule 19.6(3)(a) confirms that claimants can substitute a defendant in a professional negligence claim, if they have made a mistake about which professional carried out their legal work. However, this is not a way to correct a mistake by a claimant about who is liable for any negligence. In other words, the claimant could not try to correct an error by changing the name of the defendant to a completely different firm.

Civil Procedure Rule 19.6(3)(b) allows for a defendant to be substituted for another, where a claim cannot properly be carried on, unless the correct defendant is substituted. 

Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in a solicitor negligence case where the name of the defendant law firm had had been changed. The firm was originally called Pitmans LLP, but had changed its name to Adcamp LLP before the claim was issued. The claim was actually issued against BDB Pitmans LLP, who had not taken on the liabilities of Pitmans, although the claimants believed they had. By the time the claimants realised their error, and wanted to substitute Adcamp as a defendant, the six year limitation period had expired.

The Court of Appeal did not allow the claimants to substitute the correct defendant, but it granted permission for the claimants to appeal to the Supreme Court to review the decision. 

The current law says that substitution of a defendant will only be allowed if the same claim is to be brought against the substituted party. This has led to some confusion among professional negligence lawyers, and great difficulty for claimants who are beyond the primary six year limitation period, as the claim can never logically be the same, as the defendant will be different. It is for this reason that the Supreme Court is likely to become involved. 

Get Legal Advice About Solicitor Negligence

If you need to bring a claim for solicitor negligence, we will be able to help. Samuels Solicitors LLP, with three offices throughout the UK, has been advising clients for many decades where they have been let down by lawyers. Our team of experts will be able to advise you about the correct defendant to sue, if the name of the solicitors' firm has changed, as well as advising you about the strength of your case and the damages that you are likely to recover.

If your solicitor has made mistakes which have caused you financial loss, you should be able to bring a claim against them for compensation. We will always consider whether a no win no fee solicitor negligence claim would be suitable for you. No win no fee (also known as conditional fee) agreements cannot be guaranteed, but we will consider whether your case is eligible. 

If you would like to speak to an expert about your solicitor negligence claim, or to seek advice about which is the correct defendant for you to sue in a professional negligence claim, contact us today.