Law firm sets up service to battle competitors’ fee claims

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11:20 am, May 21, 2009
Law firm sets up service to battle competitors’ fee claims

By Michael Fahy

A new service has been launched to help businesses deal with overcharging by the region’s solicitors. The service, ab8, has been launched by Manchester-based law firm Boote Edgar Esterkin and will be run by its associate, Marc Yaffe.

The service will help clients either by opening formal negotiations on behalf of customers who believe they’ve been overcharged by their law firms or, in some cases, issuing proceedings against firms.

Boote Edgar Esterkin associate Marc Yaffe, who will run the service, said that he had recently noticed “a sharp increase” in the number of clients experiencing problems with the level of legal fees.

“We found that that as law firms battled for new instructions, a pattern emerged of solicitors providing low quotes to clients at the outset of a matter, only to bill far more than that quote when the work was completed. We realised that there was a definite market for advice in this area,” he said.

“There are strict rules governing how solicitors provide information to their clients, especially in relation to costs. Solicitors have a duty to provide their clients with the ‘best information possible’ at the outset of any matter, and this ought to include a clear and concise explanation of the total costs involved.”

Yaffe said that he had recently acted for a client who was initially quoted £8,000 by a solicitor for work relating to a property purchase. However, when the matter completed months later, the solicitor’s bill was £26,000. Whilst it was clear that the solicitor had spent much more time than initially anticipated, by providing a quote of £8,000 at the outset, he was not entitled to recover a penny more.

“At a time when the expenses of our MP’s are being aired in public, solicitors must also ensure that they maintain the integrity of the profession by being open and fair with the level of their charges.”

COMMENTS? mfahy@crain.com