A recent High Court decision in the UK considered the extent to
which a solicitor is entitled to rely on counsel's advices in
advising their client. This case will be of considerable interest
to solicitors and their professional indemnity insurers as it helps
to determine the parameters of the relationship between solicitor
and barrister in the context of a solicitor's duty to their
clients.
The claimants in this case were the Trustees in bankruptcy of Mr
Shore. The defendant solicitors acted for Mr Shore in an
unsuccessful claim against SFS for negligent advice in relation to
the transfer of his benefits under various pension schemes. The
Trustees claimed that Mr Shore would never have brought the SFS
claim nor would he have taken a low settlement if the defendant
solicitors had advised him that the claim was doomed to fail as it
was time barred.
