Legal Profession

(i) having invoiced his client for a sum which included counsel’s fees, and having received the client’s payment of the amount of that invoice, it was the duty of the solicitor to pay counsel. There is no need to wait for a separate fee note;

(ii) generally, the honest and genuine decision of a solicitor on a question of professional judgment does not give rise to a disciplinary offence. But that does not mean that for a solicitor to act where there is a significant risk of a conflict of interest cannot be a disciplinary offence. If a solicitor does not honestly and genuinely address the issue, he may be guilty of an offence. And if his decision is one that no reasonably competent solicitor could have made, it may be inferred that he did not (or could not) properly address the issue. That inference may well be appropriate where the reason given for the solicitor’s professional decision is manifestly unsustainable.