header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
27 September 2024 / Amy Dunkley
Issue: 8087 / Categories: Features , Profession , Costs
printer mail-detail

Conditional fee arrangements & interim statute bills: at odds with modern practice?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
190798
Amy Dunkley analyses a recent judgment questioning the relationship between CFAs & interim statute bills
  • The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal in Signature Litigation LLP v Ivanishvili on the grounds that invoices worth £12.8m were not ‘final nor complete’.
  • Coulson LJ noted the appeal was an example of the ‘ongoing problem’ of the Solicitors Act 1974’s dichotomy with modern practice.

The Court of Appeal recently dismissed the appeal in Signature Litigation LLP v Ivanishvili [2024] EWCA Civ 901, [2024] All ER (D) 43 (Aug) on the grounds that invoices worth £12.8m were not ‘final nor complete’. Coulson LJ concluded that 79 paid invoices were not ‘interim statute’ bills (ISBs) under the Solicitors Act 1974 (SA 1974), and therefore the s 70 limit for challenge of one year after the bill had been paid did not apply.

The question in the appeal was whether the invoices were requests for payments on account or ISBs: the right to issue the latter can only arise

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Freeths—Rachel Crosier

Freeths—Rachel Crosier

Projects and rail practices strengthened by director hire in London

DWF—Stephen Hickling

DWF—Stephen Hickling

Real estate team in Birmingham welcomes back returning partner

Ward Hadaway—44 appointments

Ward Hadaway—44 appointments

Firm invests in national growth with 44 appointments across five offices

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: 40 years on, has PACE lost its edge?
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 transformed criminal justice. Writing in NLJ this week, Ed Cape of UWE and Matthew Hardcastle and Sandra Paul of Kingsley Napley trace its ‘seismic impact’
NLJ this week: Stress-testing the City
Operational resilience is no longer optional. Writing in NLJ this week, Emma Radmore and Michael Lewis of Womble Bond Dickinson explain how UK regulators expect firms to identify ‘important business services’ that could cause ‘intolerable levels of harm’ if disrupted
NLJ this week: How sure is ‘sure’ enough?
Criminal juries may be convicting—or acquitting—on a misunderstanding. Writing in NLJ this week Paul McKeown, Adrian Keane and Sally Stares of The City Law School and LSE report troubling survey findings on the meaning of ‘sure’
NLJ this week: A deferred prosecution reprieve
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has narrowly preserved a key weapon in its anti-corruption arsenal. In this week's NLJ, Jonathan Fisher KC of Red Lion Chambers examines Guralp Systems Ltd v SFO, in which the High Court ruled that a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) remained in force despite the company’s failure to disgorge £2m by the stated deadline
NLJ this week: Mandelson, Epstein & the court of popular opinion
As the drip-feed of Epstein disclosures fuels ‘collateral damage’, the rush to cry misconduct in public office may be premature. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke of Hill Dickinson warns that the offence is no catch-all for political embarrassment. It demands a ‘grave departure’ from proper standards, an ‘abuse of the public’s trust’ and conduct ‘sufficiently serious to warrant criminal punishment’
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll