Solicitor

It was established law that in order for a court to make a finding of professional negligence against a solicitor it would first have to be determined whether there had in fact been a breach of duty. Second, if there had been, the court had to then ask whether the breach caused or materially contributed to the claimant’s alleged loss. Third, the court had to decide if the claimant had lost something of value in the sense that his prospects of success were more than negligible. Fourth, if the court decided that the claimant had lost a claim with more than a negligible prospect of success, it had to make a realistic assessment of what those prospects of success were. Finally, the court would need to make an assessment of what the likely value of the claim was having taken account of the prospects of success.