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03 September 2009 / Louis Flannery KC
Issue: 7383 / Categories: Features , Profession , Professional negligence
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Hope springs eternal?

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Louis Flannery examines cases of alleged solicitor negligence

Hope springs eternal: man is ever-optimistic, or so thought Pope in 1733 in his Essay on Man. As solicitors, we all try to be as optimistic in our advice to clients as we can. Nevertheless, be careful: the dangers of being over-optimistic in the context of legal advice were spelled out earlier this year in a case involving a magic circle firm advising clients in relation to a substantial and complex dispute.
 

No solicitor goes out of their way to be negligent: being sued by a client can never be a pleasant experience. Although solicitors’ negligence cases usually arise from transactional work, in the litigation field the most common cause for complaint is a failure to issue or serve proceedings before the expiry of the relevant limitation period. In 2004, the Court of Appeal delivered its judgment in the case of Dixon v Clement Jones, a case of solicitor negligence involving a failure to issue proceedings in time, in a “loss of chance” case:

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