According to the data, the High Court heard 221 professional negligence lawsuits against solicitors over the one year period, down from 418 such cases for 2013-2014. However, the total number of cases still eclipses the comparatively small pool of 143 recorded for the twelve months to June 2013 by 55 per cent. RPC partner Joe Bryant commented that year-on-year fall in the total caseload against firms may be a sign the wave of lawsuits stemming from the financial crisis is at last abating. A new emphasis on risk management among major firms 'may be having an impact' on declining lawsuit numbers, added Simmons & Simmons senior partner Colin Passmore.
'Under-settlement' cases rise
An emerging trend in negligence lawsuits brought against solicitors are what RPC describes as 'under-settlement' cases, wherein a solicitor's former client hires a specialist competitor to sue the original solicitor for failing to secure the best possible financial settlement for the client. 'These cases are being brought on an industrial scale, on the back of carefully targeted advertising campaigns which bring the claimants through the door,' Mr Bryant commented. Divorce settlements and litigation under 'no win, no fee' arrangements are reportedly the most common categories of under-settlement lawsuits.
'Scatter-gun' litigation
He added that new legal software is making it 'quicker and cheaper' for specialist law firms to bring cases against lawyers on a large scale as a catch-all approach to boosting total litigation volume. 'Whilst perhaps only one in fifty cases reaches litigation, the whole process places a huge burden both on the firms being targeted and their professional indemnity insurers, and associated insurance premiums,' Mr Bryant added. Sources: RPC; Legal Business
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