George's story

George hired Jerry to do some roofing work. They fell out when George accused Jerry of causing further damage, which Jerry denied.  George asked his solicitor to claim £10,000 from Jerry so George could have the damage repaired.  

George’s solicitor set up a meeting with Jerry and his solicitor. After negotiations, Jerry offered £8,000 in damages, plus £1,500 towards legal costs.

George’s solicitor advised him to accept the offer, which he did, but he later felt the settlement was too low. He complained first to the firm, and then to the SLCC.

George main concern was he felt the settlement wasn't enough and that he had lost money. He believed his solicitor should have pushed for the full £10,000 and questioned the advice he had received. He felt their poor negotiation had cost him £2,000 and thought the firm should pay for that loss.  

We carefully reviewed the file, including correspondence between George and his solicitor.

The evidence showed that the solicitor had clearly explained:

It would be hard to prove that Jerry caused all the £10,000 in damage.

George’s arguments might not be accepted by a court.

He may have to pay extra costs if the case went to court.

There was no guarantee a court would have awarded more than Jerry had offered.

There was also no evidence to support George’s claim that if pushed, Jerry might have agreed to pay more.

We found that the solicitor had managed expectations appropriately, explained the risks clearly, and advised acceptance of a reasonable settlement based on the available evidence.

Since George agreed to the settlement, it remained in place.

We cannot undo an agreement once it has been accepted.

Our role is to assess whether the solicitor:

Considered all relevant evidence.

Clearly explained options and risks.

Acted reasonably and provided an appropriate standard of service.

In this case, the evidence showed that they had.