Justice served if trial-ready advocates not penalised
A solicitor is entitled to a fixed trial advocacy fee even where the case settles on the day of trial, the High Court has confirmed.
Mr Justice Coulson held that the county court had been wrong to refuse Armstrongs Solicitors their fee in a personal injury case where the parties settled before the final contested hearing commenced in Mendes v Hochtief (UK) Construction Lt d [2016] EWHC 976 (QB).
Delivering his judgment, Coulson J said: “Counsel twice asked the learned recorder for more time which he granted and in consequence the settlement occurred. I do not believe that it strains the language of the rule to conclude that this was a case where the claim was ‘disposed of at trial’, albeit by way of settlement rather than judgment.”
He accepted counsel’s argument that “there are sound policy reasons for concluding that the interests of justice would be better served if the advocate was not penalised financially for negotiating a settlement at the door of the court.
“Nor do I think that my interpretation leads to uncertainty; indeed, in my view, confusion is much more likely to arise on the alternative construction, with arguments—which might have arisen here—about precisely when the trial could be said to have commenced.”
David Wright, council member of the Association of Costs Lawyers, says: “The clear direction provided by Coulson J is welcome and will hopefully prevent further satellite litigation regarding the point at which the trial advocacy fee is payable.
“However, it is unlikely to see an end to the wider question of when a trial begins.”
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