Professional Negligence and Liability
| This chapter was reviewed in February 2025. No amendments were made at this time. The next review of this chapter is due in August 2025. |
Chapter 9
SOLICITORS
I. COMMON LAW DUTIES
1. Duty in contract
9.1
When a solicitor provides services to a client, he will do so pursuant to a contract. Hence the starting point for considering the scope of a solicitor’s duty must be the contractual retainer. As Oliver J observed in the case of Midland Bank Trust Co Ltd v. Hett, Stubbs & Kemp
1: “The extent of [a solicitor’s] duties depends upon the terms and limits of that retainer and any duty of care to be implied must be related to what he is instructed to do.”