Solicitor paid fee without fulfilling obligation

B

Bobby2013

Registered User
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I have made a complaint to the LSRA which is ongoing with no end in sight. My mum who is 82 paid a solicitor in full to have legal work done which was never completed. she lost faith in him and asked for her fee to be returned. He has ignored our requests so we reported the matter to the LSRA. A case file was opened and correspondence began. He ignored the LSRA for months with no response.

Finally, he agreed to pay back the fee when I informed them he was not registered as specialising in the specific task he was asked to do..... months later has not returned the fee.

We continue to follow procedure with the LSRA but in our view they are not doing enough to hold this man accountable and follow through with his promise to pay back the fee, what procedures is he forced to follow?.

We are now thinking of highlighting this on air, my mother is elderly and vulnerable and wanted to have everything in place in the event of anything happening to her. We are fuming that the LSRA are not holding this guy accountable. Any advise ?
 
That sounds dreadful.......I honestly am unsure what you can do more than you have done.
 
Purple said:
Have you contacted a member of the LSRA directly?
I'm not sure if it's a good idea but Demott Jewell has a public profile as a consumer advocate.
Click to expand...
Would that not risk prejudicing any prospective or future action the body might take against this solicitor?

I'd be pretty certain that any private canvassing of a member of a body with disciplinary powers in relation to a particular case would at the very least invalidate that member's and perhaps others' involvement in that case.
 
Hi Bobby

Unfortunately, these things take time.

If you have a letter from the solicitor agreeing to refund the fee, you will get it either from the solicitor or the compensation fund.

Do not contact a member of the LSRA

Anyway, Dermot Jewell has his own problems to deal with

EU consumer-rights charity is shut down as Simon Coveney cites governance crisis

An EU consumer-rights charity funded through state and EU finance is to close with the loss of 10 jobs, after Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney decided to withdraw support for the agency on foot of a corporate governance crisis.
www.independent.ie

Brendan
 
Yep, fair point.
 
Another angle worth considering is the Small Claims Court if the amount of the fees at issue is less than €2,000.
You pay a non-refundable charge of €25 and are at no risk of costs being awarded against you if you lose.
I base this suggestion on the notion that this looks like a breach of contract case.
Link to Small Claims Court https://www.courts.ie/small-claims

If the amount of fees in dispute is greater than €2,000 your mother can still sue in the relevant court but the usual rules on costs, proofs and the rest of it apply. At a practical level your mother just needs the money now without this level of strife !

Lateral thought. If the solicitor has - on the evidence - been negligent as well as breaching contract you could threaten to make a professional indemnity against them. The measure of losses would the amount of the fees paid, interest and distress/inconvenience.
All solicitors are required to carry professional indemnity insurance.
The Law Society website exhibits details of the professional indemnity insurance carried by every solicitor.

Basically, you need to persist and turn the heat up a notch or two.

I endorse very strongly others advice not to canvass.
 

Most certainly. You could create what is known as "objective bias".
 
Purple said:
Have you contacted a member of the LSRA directly?
I'm not sure if it's a good idea but Demott Jewell has a public profile as a consumer advocate.
Click to expand...
Thank you, yes I have been making calls and follow up with emails. They do not have anything to say except we will note your call and have someone contact you.....Thank you for the reply,

Thank you....Surely my contacting the LSRA would not constitute canvassing, they are there to assist??
This is a great idea, I will look into this. Thank you......What might you suggest to turn the heat up....highlighting this on air??
 
To be clear ;

1. "Turning up the heat" means using the existing channels of communication to threaten legal proceedings and the rest if the matter is not expedited.

2. Communicating with the LSRA is in order. Canvassing an individual decision maker is not and will prove totally counterproductive.

3. I suggest that you avoid the media for now - they are not always as useful as people might think !
 
Thank you, I really appreciate the help......today I am invited to write a statement as the case is going for determination ....
 
Bobby2013 said:
Thank you, I really appreciate the help......today I am invited to write a statement as the case is going for determination ....
Click to expand...

That is a step forward.

When writing up your statement adhere as closely as possible to observations on matters of fact.
It would also help if the statement was constructed chronologically so that decision makers see how events unfolded.
 
Reactions: Leo
DirectDevil said:
That is a step forward.

When writing up your statement adhere as closely as possible to observations on matters of fact.
It would also help if the statement was constructed chronologically so that decision makers see how events unfolded.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I am constructing this with headings,.. 1. Background.. concise background to include engagement of his service to lack of performance. 2. Concerns... To cover how lack of engagement with my mum has lead to lack of trust and not acting in his clients best interest if there were future dealings and 3. Outcome... To return the fee paid to him to allow my mum to engage another solicitor who specialises in the area of law.

Everything is in chronological order as you rightly suggest.

I have time to get this right... With next 21 days.

I appreciate your time and super guidance... Many thanks
 
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