header-logo header-logo

The (new look) solicitor’s equitable lien

01 April 2022 / Anthony Field
Issue: 7973 / Categories: Features , Profession , Procedure & practice
printer mail-detail
77120
Bott & Co v Ryanair is an important development for access to justice, writes Anthony Field
  • Considers the landmark case on solicitor’s lien, Bott & Co v Ryanair, including at lower courts and Supreme Court, and the reasons for the decision.

On 16 March 2022, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision in the case of Bott & Co Solicitors Limited v Ryanair DAC [2022] UKSC 8, [2022] All ER (D) 54 (Mar). The judgment has developed the law of a solicitor’s equitable lien that has existed for more than 200 years and the decision will resonate across the legal profession. It is an important case for access to justice.

The solicitor’s equitable lien

In its traditional form, the solicitor’s equitable lien entitles a solicitor who acts for a client in litigation to recoup their fees out of the money recovered by their client. However, if the opposing party pays the money directly to the client, having been made aware of the solicitor’s entitlement to be paid

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

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll