A solicitor’s failure to act for you properly in litigation can cause your case to be prejudiced, weakened or even struck out so when a solicitor does make a mistake or get it wrong, the client can suffer financially.

The test as to whether the solicitor was negligent is whether the mistake is one that no reasonably competent professional should have made in the circumstances and whether it has caused you financial loss.

Examples of litigation solicitor negligence

Here are some examples of when a litigation solicitor may be negligent.

1. Failure to bring court proceedings in time;
2. Failing to serve a Defence on time or at all;
3. Failure to comply with deadlines for court directions, relating to the service of evidence or disclosure of documents, for instance;
4. Failing to obtain sufficient expert evidence to support or value the claim;
5. Failure to assess properly the merits of a case at the appropriate time or at all;
6. Failure to draft the court papers properly;
7. Failing to advise on a ‘Part 36’ or other offer and its costs consequences;
8. Failing to advise on dispute settlement properly or at all;
9. Failing to advise of the merits of Alternative Dispute Resolution (Mediation etc.);
10. Failure to advise about After The Event (‘ATE‘) insurance to protect against having to pay the pother party’s legal costs;
11. Failure to file costs budgets in time so costs were not recoverable;
12. Failure to advise of the likely costs of litigation against the damages likely to be recovered;
13. Failure to confirm that client’s legal expenses insurance may cover the costs of a claim before costs were incurred;

Why us?

Our litigation team has extensive experience in acting for clients who have suffered financial loss as a result of poor and negligent advice or representation from solicitors or barristers.

If you think your solicitor or barrister was negligent and your financial loss in excess of £10,000, call Jonathan Tyler in our Sevenoaks office on 01732 457575 or email jonathan.tyler@wellerslawgroup.com.