A costs recovery outfit which made its name pursuing law firms for compensation has been bought by one of its own repeat targets.
Litigation firm Richard Slade and Company has bought the rights to checkmylegalfees.com, bringing its founder Mark Carlisle on board.
Carlisle’s practice became a scourge of many law firms by pursuing them for costs deducted from awards to previous clients. Richard Slade, based in central London, was one of the many businesses engaged in litigation with clients Clear Legal (trading as checkmylegalfees.com) but has now opted to bring the firm on board.
Richard Slade, founder and managing director of Richard Slade and Company, said: ‘Having been fighting each other in court for the last 10 years, it’s extraordinary and testament to the professionalism on both sides that we have been able to make this happen. The name “Checkmylegalfees.com” is a fantastic name and it’s fair to say that Mark has, single-handedly, moved on the law of costs more in recent years than, perhaps, any one individual has ever done before. I am looking forward to working with Mark to continue the good work, though, from now on, we’ll be on the same side in court.’
Carlisle added: ‘It’s great to be joining forces with Richard and his team, who we know are all formidable litigators, and perfect timing with the introduction later this year of fixed recoverable costs to a much broader range of legal matters.’
Richard Slade and Company will continue to practise from its offices in Gray’s Inn under its own name but will be using 'Checkmylegalfees.com' as an additional trading style.
Carlisle and his business had sought to capitalise on how firms changed their business model following the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and the reduction in recoverable costs for personal injury. Often, the shortfalls in costs would be deducted from clients’ damages and there has been constant argument in the courts about the validity of these deductions.
But checkmylegalfees.com had its wings clipped following defeat in the Court of Appeal last year, when judges ruled in Belsner that deductions made by a Norfolk firm were lawful and did not need to be paid back.
Master of the rolls Sir Geoffrey Vos said it was ‘unsatisfactory’ that firms like checkmylegalfees.com could adopt a business model that allowed them to bring expensive High Court litigation to assess modest solicitors’ bills in cases of this kind. He added: ‘The legal ombudsman scheme would be a cheaper and more effective method of querying solicitors’ bills in these circumstances, but the whole court process of assessment of solicitors’ bills in contentious and non-contentious business requires careful review and significant reform.’
The claimant, Darya Belsner, was ordered to pay £130,000 in interim costs, with defence costs likely to be more than double that for the appeal alone.
The most recently-published annual accounts for checkmylegalfees.com, covering the year to 30 June 2022, show the business had net liabilities of almost £4,000.
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