Claims against advisers who got it wrong.
Counsel for professional negligence claims against solicitors, accountants, surveyors, brokers, architects and other advisers across England and Wales.
A professional negligence claim is not simply a complaint about poor service. It requires a duty, a breach measured against the standard of a reasonably competent practitioner in the same field, and loss that the law says flows from the breach. Many claims that feel strong at first fail on causation, and the sooner that is tested the less money is wasted.
Clerk&Counsel introduces independent barristers who take professional negligence work for claimants and for defendants. We are a clerking agency rather than a chambers or a firm of solicitors, so you deal with counsel directly and the fee is fixed before any work begins. Solicitors instructing on behalf of a client can use the same route to place a case quickly.
The starting point is almost always a written advice. It sets out whether there is a claim, when limitation expires, what the realistic recovery looks like once the counterfactual is analysed, and whether the costs risk is worth taking. That document alone frequently resolves the question of whether to proceed.
Claims counsel takes on.
- Solicitors, including missed limitation dates, defective drafting, poor conveyancing and negligent litigation advice.
- Accountants and tax advisers, including negligent structuring and failure to warn of exposure.
- Surveyors and valuers, including overvaluation, missed defects and negligent homebuyer reports.
- Architects, engineers and construction professionals on design and supervision failures.
- Insurance brokers on non-disclosure, inadequate cover and failure to advise on policy conditions.
- Financial advisers and investment intermediaries on unsuitable advice.
- Barristers and other advocates, where advice or advocacy fell below the required standard.
- Defending professionals and their insurers against claims of this kind.
The counterfactual decides most cases.
Establishing breach is often the easier part. The harder question is what would have happened if the professional had acted competently. Would the transaction have completed on different terms, would the lender have advanced less, would the underlying claim have succeeded and for how much.
Where the outcome depended on the actions of a third party or a court, the loss of a chance approach applies and damages are discounted to reflect the prospects. Getting that assessment right early avoids pleading a claim at a level the evidence cannot support.
Scope of duty also matters. A professional is liable for the consequences of the information or advice they were retained to provide, not for every loss that follows. Recent Supreme Court authority has sharpened that analysis and it now features in most defences.
The pre-action protocol and beyond.
The Professional Negligence Pre-Action Protocol governs the early stages. It requires a preliminary notice to alert the professional and their insurer, then a letter of claim setting out the allegations, the loss and the documents relied on, followed by an acknowledgment and a letter of response within defined periods.
Most claims settle during or shortly after that exchange, particularly once insurers have assessed the merits. Where they do not, the claim proceeds through the usual directions, disclosure, witness statements and expert evidence from a practitioner in the same discipline.
Alternative dispute resolution is expected. Mediation is common in this field and often succeeds because insurers value certainty and confidentiality. Counsel can advise on settlement strategy and attend the mediation itself.
Fixed fees and staged instructions.
The initial advice is a fixed fee based on the papers supplied. That is deliberately the first step, because it protects you from investing in a claim that will not clear the causation hurdle.
Protocol letters, particulars of claim, applications and hearings are each quoted separately. Trials are priced as a brief fee plus refreshers so that the total exposure is visible in advance.
Where a solicitor is instructing, staged fees can be aligned to the court timetable, and counsel will flag at each stage whether the costs risk under CPR Part 44 still justifies continuing.
Specialist areas within this practice.
- Professional negligence claims
The wider hub covering claims against advisers.
- Breach of contract barrister
Contractual claims that often run alongside negligence.
- Civil fraud barrister
Where the adviser's conduct goes beyond negligence.
- Commercial litigation barristers
Counsel for wider commercial disputes.
Send the file and a short chronology.
Tell us who advised you, what went wrong and when you found out. We will come back with counsel options and a fixed fee for an advice on merits and limitation.
Common questions.
What has to be proved in a professional negligence claim?
That the professional owed you a duty, that they fell below the standard of a reasonably competent practitioner in that field, and that the failure caused you loss which the law regards as recoverable. Causation is usually the hardest element, particularly where the claim depends on what a third party or a court would have done.
How long do I have to bring a claim?
Six years from the date of the negligence, or three years from the date you knew enough about the damage to bring a claim, subject to a fifteen year long stop under the Latent Damage Act 1986. Limitation is frequently contested, so it should be assessed at the very first advice.
Do I have to follow the Professional Negligence Pre-Action Protocol?
Yes in most cases. The protocol requires a preliminary notice, a detailed letter of claim, and a letter of response within set periods. It also encourages alternative dispute resolution. Failing to follow it can lead to costs consequences even where the claim succeeds.
Can a barrister advise on a claim against my former solicitor?
Yes. Counsel can review the file, advise on breach, causation and quantum, draft the letter of claim under the protocol and, where instructed, conduct the litigation if they hold a litigation extension. Claims against solicitors are among the most common instructions in this area.
How much does an initial advice cost?
It is a fixed fee agreed before work starts, based on the volume of papers. For most claims that means a written advice covering merits, limitation, likely recovery and the costs risk of proceeding.