STATUTORY BILLS: NO REQUIREMENT TO INFORM CLIENT OF ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE

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Most solicitors have on the face of a statutory bill information about the client’s right to seek assessment under the Solicitors Act 1974, and it has been widely assumed that this was a requirement of a statutory bill.

More recently, the courts have been stating that this is not necessary.

In my view, it is still good practice, and can never be criticized, but if for any reason, you have not included this information on the face of the bill, then it does not detract from the bill being a statutory bill within the meaning of the Solicitors Act 1974.

I suspect that the inclusion of this information of the face of the bill stems from the time when clients had a right to seek a Remuneration Certificate from the Law Society – remember that?

Then it was compulsory to include such information on the face of the bill.

In

Menzies v Oakwood Solicitors Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 844 (14 July 2023)

the Court of Appeal put the matter beyond doubt.

“Other requirements in relation to statutory bills

25. The right to an assessment under section 70 is to an assessment of a solicitor’s “bill”. It was common ground that the reference to a “bill” is to a bill that complies with the requirements of section 69 of the 1974 Act. It was also common ground that the bill in this case was a compliant bill. We should mention at this point that it is not a statutory requirement that a bill should inform the client of their right to an assessment. In Richard Slade and Company plc v. Erlam [2022] EWHC 325 (QB), [2022] Costs LR 489, HHJ Gosnell, sitting as a judge of the High Court, said:

25. … When dealing with a client’s right to seek an assessment of costs from his or her solicitors the Act seeks to strike a balance between allowing a reasonable time for a client to question the quantum of costs whilst protecting solicitors from having to deal with stale allegations of overcharging. Whilst the Act purports to regulate those rights it does not go so far as to oblige the solicitor to advise the client of these provisions in terms, nor to explain in plain English what the actual consequences of the application of those terms are for the client. I am personally sympathetic to the argument that it probably should.

26. Both counsel advised me that there are no regulations either connected with the [1974 Act] or Code of Conduct, arising from their obligations as a solicitor, which would oblige solicitors to explain to clients that the effect of the service of an interim statute bill (properly authorised by the retainer) would be to start the clock running for a potential [1974 Act] assessment and that there are different time limits depending on the circumstances.”