In order to win a negligence claim against a solicitor, the claimant will need to prove a number of things.

Duty of Care

Foremost among these is the notion of "duty of care", meaning that it is necessary to prove that, under the terms of the solicitor-client relationship, the defendant solicitor owed a duty to the claimant. Needless to say, as this duty is fundamental to the solicitor-client contract, in the vast majority of cases this is not difficult to prove.

Breach of Duty

The next step in building a persuasive negligence claim against a solicitor is proving that the solicitor in question breached the above mentioned duty.

This is a is a rather more complicated task and involves comparing and testing the actions of the solicitor against a number of important criteria – underpinning the assessment of all these criteria will be the question of whether the defendant's service and conduct met the standards of a reasonably competent solicitor.

Other questions to be considered, will include whether the solicitor followed the client's instructions and took reasonable care in carrying out these instructions. Before reaching any ruling a court will also need to look at whether the solicitor used basic competence and skill, offered advice on all appropriate matters and whether he or she sought to protect the client's interests.

Loss

Even in cases where breach of duty is proven, it is still incumbent on the claimant to prove that this breach has caused financial or monetary loss.

Once this loss has been proven, liability is established and only the question of an appropriate sum of compensation will remain.

Healys professional negligence solicitors

For specialist advice and assistance with a professional negligence claim against a solicitor from our Brighton and London teams, contact us by using our call-back form, email partner Robert Johnson or call directly on 020 7822 4106.

Further information

Settling well and lawyer negligence claims
PII and ARP and claims for solicitor negligence
Wills solicitor professional negligence claims
Commercial property transactions and professional negligence
Professional negligence and solicitor duty of care
Negligent wills or probate advice
Conveyancing solicitor negligence claims
Negligent divorce and separation advice claims
Barrister negligence claims