Disputes over larger bills, on the other hand, would be required to try alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes before moving to the courts.
The CJC, in a consultation issued last week on reforming solicitors’ costs in Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974, proposes replacing current legislation governing solicitors’ costs, including the requirement that the client give ‘informed consent’. Instead, there would be a ‘readily understood’ statutory code featuring the overarching principle that solicitors’ charges be ‘fair and reasonable’. This test would be ‘an objective one, applicable to the terms of the engagement and the quantum of the charges, rather than the manner of achieving the agreement’.
The CJC also recommends scrapping the current distinction between contentious and non-contentious business as it ‘serves no useful purpose and on the contrary promotes uncertainty and inefficiency’.
David Bailey-Vella, chair of the Association of Costs Lawyers, said: ‘This is an exciting moment for the costs market.
‘We are pleased to see recommendations that will sweep away many of the outdated formalities around bills that serve only to prolong disputes unnecessarily. In principle, shifting responsibility for smaller bills to the Legal Ombudsman is attractive if it makes their resolution quicker and cheaper. But the current state of the Ombudsman, which has been open about the need for radical reform in the face of a fast-growing caseload and ever-longer waits for complainants, raises questions about how practical this is, at least for the foreseeable future.
‘We support the greater use of ADR, but we need solicitors to buy in too. Overall, there is much to like in this consultation. But what it points to is the need for a culture change as much as a rule change if we are to deliver a regime that works in the interests of all.’
Law Society vice president Brett Dixon said: ‘Rules around solicitors’ costs are unnecessarily complicated and it is positive that the CJC are considering reform.’
The consultation closes on 16 July.
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