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Solicitor's Conveyancing remuneration
in Engiand
THE Council of ihe English Law Society has received
from the Statutory Body under the Solicitors Remuner-
ation Act 1881 the draft of a new Solicitors Remuner-
ation Order 1972. The main provisions of this draft
order, which will not become effective until it has been
considered by the Council of the Law Society in England
and ultimately made, with or without amendemcnt, by
the Statutory Body are as follows.
2 (1) A solicitor's remuneration for non-contentious
business (including business under the Land Rogistra-
tioon Act 1925 shall be such sum as may be fair and
reasonable having regard to all the circumstances of
the case and in particular to
(i) the complexity of the matter or the difficulty or
novelty of tnc questions raised.
(ii) The skill, labour, specialised knowledge and
responsibility involved.
(iii) The time spent on the business.
(iv) The number and importance of the documents
prepared or perused without regard to length.
(v) The place where and the circumstances in which
the business or any part thereof is transacted.
(vi) Where money or property is involved its amount
or value and
(vii) the importance of the matter to thee lient.
It is further provided that in any conveyancing trans-
action there shall be included among the circumstances
to which regard is to be had in accordance with the
provisions of the order
(i) the fact that any land to which the business relates
is registered land within the meaning of the Land Regis-
tration Act 1925
(ii) the fact that the solicitor is acting or has acted
(a) in the same transaction for another party or
(b) or other transactions relating to land having
the same or substantially the same title.
Reference to the Law Society
A client may require the solicitor to obtain a certificate
from the Law Society as to whether the sum charged is
fair or reasonable and if the Law Society decide that the
chargc is excessive the sum fixed by the Law Society
will be the sum payable by the client This is without
prejudice to the provisions of the Solicitors Act 1957 in
relation to taxation of costs. Presumably either the
solicitor or the clicnt will have the right to have the
costs taxed after a Law Society's certificate has been
issued.
Notification to the client
Before bringing proceedings to recover costs on a bill
the solicitor will be obliged to notify the client of his
right to obtain a certificate from the Law Society
and also the provisions of the Solicitors Acts in
relation to taxation of costs. On the taxation of any
bill under the order the onus to satisfy the taxing officer
as to the fairness of the charge will rest on the solicitor.
The client will not be entitled to require the solicitor to
obtain a certificate of the Law Society after the bill has
been either taxed or paid. If the taxing officer allows less
than half the sum charged he is to bring the facts to the
attention of the Law Society.
It seems the commission scale fee system which was
introduced in England in 1883 at the request of the
public and against the wishes of the profession is
nearing its end there and that the new system will take
its place. The difference between the position in England
and Ireland is that Schedule 2 in the two countries is
based on entirely different conceptions. The English
schedule 2 is a single charge based on the seven enumer-
ated factors and means that charges will be regulated
on much the same system as those of chartered account-
ants and other professions which, however, unlike
solicitors charges, are not subject to taxation by the
Churt. The English system avoids the necessity of long
and detailed bills, counting folios and other tedious
work. The taxing master on an appeal from the Society
exercises a real discretion. In Ireland we are still tied to
the outmoded system of piece work charges for drawing
and perusing documents.
One of the chief advantages of the commission scale
fee is its certainty and economy in the preparation of
bills. Even the new Schedule 2 adopted here would still
involve considerable detailed work in preparing con-
veyancing bills of costs with their consequent addition
to solicitors' overhead expenses. No doubt the Prices
Commission or Central Costs Committee which will in
due course have to consider the entire system of solici-
tors' remuneration will have regard to what is happening
in England. Many other professions and occupations
such as stockbrokers, architects, chartered surveyors,
auctioneers, advertising agents, literary and commercial
agents generally chargc on a commission basis. Soli-
citors' commission fees have recently been under attack
and it will be interesting to see whether the Prices
Commission will apply the same principles in dealing
with other professions and occupations as those now
suggested for solicitors.
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