The Gazette 1940-44

drawn or amended, either so as to increase or diminish the charges, otherwise than by consent. A solicitor, on delivery of a bill may expressly reserve the right to withdraw or alter it on condition, provided that the condition is such as can fairly be imposed by a solicitor on his client. Th^ Court has jurisdiction to permit the with drawal or alteration of a bill in proper circum stances. In a recent decided case, In re a Solicitor and In re Taxation of Costs, 59 T.L.R. 68, a solici tor was given leave to withdraw a Bill of Costs furnished to a client and to substitute an altered bill. He had represented the client in partially successful litigation and the client had obtained against his Opponent in the action an order for payment of certain costs. The taxation of these costs, as between party and party, had been com pleted, according to the English practice, subject to the vouching of Counsel's fees, and portion of these fees amounting to £298 was still due to Counsel on the date of the party and party taxation. Subsequent to the party and party taxation, but before payment of Counsel's fees, ' the solicitor furnished to his client a Solicitor and Client bill which included these fees, but by error failed to comply with a regulation requiring unpaid disbursements to be set out in the bill in a particular manner. He did in fact pay all fees due to Counsel before taxation of the Solicitor and Client bill, as a result of which the client obtained against his Opponent 'a certificate of taxation, as between party and party, of an amount which included these fees. On the taxation 'of the Solicitor and Client bill, the irregularity in the setting out of Counsel's fees was relied upon by the client in order to have them disallowed. The solicitor, on application to the Court, was granted liberty to withdraw the defective bill and to furnish another setting out the items correctly, but not altered in any other respect. The Court held that it had a discretion in the matter, and exercised it in favour of the solicitor, chiefly because failure to do so would give the client the pecuniary benefit of the payments made to Counsel by the solicitor. Order LXV Rule 45 (c) of the Rules of the Supreme Court (Ireland) 1905, provides that no addition or alteration shall be made in "costs after they have been lodged for taxation, except by permission or direction of the Taxing Master, so that it would seem that such an application in this country need not be made to a Judge in the first instance. 26

the prosecution was most reprehensible, and lie proposed to obtain a transcript of the evidence and send it to the Law Society. His Lordship took a serious view of the girl's evidence if true, and if it • was not true the solicitor ought to be cleared of such a charge. The case does not appear to have been officially reported and, as published in the Times, the Judge's remarks were divorced from their context. There may have been circum stances connected with this case not disclosed in the report which were the real basis of the Judge's condemnation of the conduct with which he was dealing. If such circumstances were not present many will feel that the prohibition laid down by the Judge was too wide. Most solicitors would be surprised to learn of any universal rule whereby merely interviewing any witness, whether already sub-.poenaed or not by another party to the proceedings, is regarded as a breach of propriety. Cases will occur in which common sense will suggest that it would be improper to seek to interview a particular witness. There seems, however, to be no valid reason why a solicitor, preparing instructions for Coxmsel for the defence in a criminal prosecution should be obliged to relv upon depositions or proofs of evidence taken down by the police or someone else if he has reason to believe that they may be incomplete or may omit to deal with matters within the knowledge of a witness which he foresees will be important for his client's defence. The popular terms, " witness for the prosecution " and " witness for the defence," though sanctioned by usage, are really a misnomer. Provided that he scrupulously avoids anything which would constitute an abuse of his privilege the general view of the profession has been that a solicitor is entitled to interview any witness whose evidence may be necessary for the presentation of the facts of his client's case to the Court. Withdrawal of Bill of Costs A solicitor differs from other professional men in being subject to the provisions of the Solicitors Acts and, as an Officer of the Court, being under its jurisdiction in the conduct of his client's business. One of the disabilities attaching to his official status is that a Bill of Costs, once delivered to a client, cannot in general be with­