Examples of Solicitor Negligence

Professional negligence in specialist legal fields

Negligently drafted wills

A solicitor or indeed any qualified (or non-qualified) Will writer is responsible to fulfil a duty of care not only to their client upon whose behalf they are writing the Will, but also to the beneficiaries involved. Common causes of professional negligence claims held against solicitors within this field are:

• Failure to ensure that a will is validly witnessed and signed
• Failure to ensure that a will is prepared in a reasonable time frame (before the will-maker dies)
• Failure to check a will for clerical and drafting errors that could partially or entirely invalidate the will

The solicitor or indeed other negligent professional is obligated to administer the estate correctly and in accordance with the law. In the instance that he or she fails to do so the executors are consequentially entitled to bring forward a professional negligence claim, reporting the financial loss suffered as a result of the solicitor’s negligence.

Negligence in mergers

Clients should be aware that solicitors can offer a range of services; any qualified lawyer should be capable of assisting with any type of merger or acquisition including that of shares, assets acquisition and management buy-outs. Therefore negligence claims applicable are as follows:

• Failure to form a deal framework, or support agreements
• Failure to focus on financial arrangements and employment problems
• Failure to identify competition problems and documentation
• Failure to impose warranties and indemnities

Negligence in employment contracts

Any competent solicitor is capable of distributing legal advice on a business contract, general legal advice and administering the facilitation of contractual documentation. A few examples of areas that negligence claims are applicable are:

• Failure to impose appropriate employment contracts
• Failure to identify Internet and emails terms of use
• Failure to prepare on employment contract disputes

In the event that an individual feels that they have been treated improperly by a solicitor, causing financial loss, there are a number of ways to finance a Professional Negligence claim, through a contingency fee basis to Legal Aid.

Share your experiences

Please note: The views expressed in community areas of this site do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of Law on the Web, its owners, its staff or contributors.