Professional Negligence Solicitors

Start with the engagement letter, scope of work and purpose of the advice. Establish who instructed the professional and to whom any duty was owed. Advice given for one purpose does not automatically create responsibility for every later decision or loss.

The Supreme Court in Manchester Building Society v Grant Thornton explains why the purpose of the duty matters when deciding which losses fall within it. Establishing careless work alone does not answer that question.

• Manchester Building Society v Grant Thornton [2021] UKSC 20

Compare the work done with the standard required by the relevant duty, using appropriate evidence rather than hindsight alone. Identify what should have happened and how the alleged failure changed the outcome.

A claim must address causation and recoverable loss, including whether the loss falls within the scope of the duty. Other causes, remoteness and reasonable steps to limit loss can affect recovery. An error is not a guarantee of compensation or reimbursement of every subsequent expense.

Professional duties can overlap with contractual obligations. An ordinary dispute about an invoice or a commercial promise is not automatically professional negligence; identify the particular obligation and claim before choosing the procedure.

• Contract disputes

Preserve the retainer, reports, advice, instructions, emails, transaction documents and relevant court papers. Record the dates of the work, the alleged error, resulting damage and when concerns first arose. Keep evidence supporting each item of loss and any steps taken to reduce it.

Independent expert input may be needed on the professional standard or valuation of loss. The appropriate discipline and scope should be assessed before commissioning a report. Keep original documents and distinguish factual records from assumptions about what a different outcome would have been.

The Professional Negligence Protocol covers alleged negligence and equivalent contractual or fiduciary breaches within its scope. It excludes construction professionals and healthcare providers, which have different protocols, and also identifies defamation claims as outside its intended scope. Claims against architects need the appropriate construction-related procedure.

Where applicable, the process includes preliminary notification and a detailed letter of claim identifying the allegations, causation, loss and key documents. The letter of claim should be acknowledged within 21 days of receipt. The professional then normally has three months from the acknowledgment to investigate and respond, with reasonable extensions considered under the protocol.

Review the response, any admission and proposals for settlement before deciding on proceedings. The protocol encourages information exchange and ADR; it is not a promise that a claim will be completed within three months.

• Professional Negligence Pre-Action Protocol

Ordinary tort and simple-contract claims generally have six-year periods from accrual, but accrual and exceptions differ. Contractual breach and actionable damage in negligence may occur at different times. Do not count from discovery of an error without checking the applicable cause of action.

For qualifying negligence claims, section 14A allows the later of six years from accrual or three years from the statutory knowledge starting date. Knowledge includes facts reasonably discoverable and is not postponed simply until legal advice confirms negligence. The provision is subject to its scope and does not supply a general extension for personal injury claims.

Section 14B ordinarily imposes a fifteen-year longstop from the relevant negligent act or omission, or the last relevant date where more than one is involved, even if damage or knowledge arises later. Statutory exclusions and exceptions need checking: section 32 has specific fraud, concealment and mistake rules, and deliberate concealment under section 32(1)(b) disapplies sections 14A and 14B.

A complaint, protocol correspondence or mediation does not itself suspend limitation. Seek a case-specific deadline assessment promptly; a properly agreed standstill or protective proceedings may need consideration rather than waiting for a final response.

• Limitation Act: tort claims
• Limitation Act: simple contracts
• Limitation Act: knowledge-based negligence period
• Limitation Act: negligence longstop
• Limitation Act: fraud, concealment and mistake

Assess the strength of the evidence, proportionate expert work, likely remedies and the practical prospects of recovery. A claim may be resolved through correspondence or mediation, but a disputed claim may require proceedings and court directions.

Costs exposure, available funding and any insurance position need individual assessment. An allegation, admission or favourable judgment does not ensure full recovery. Any instruction must be checked for suitability and conflicts, including where a claim concerns a professional adviser.

• Civil litigation
• Dispute resolution
• Mediation