When is a bill not a bill?

​In a decision handed down today in the Senior Courts Costs Office by Master Gordon-Saker (the Senior Costs Judge) in Rahimian -v- Allan Janes LLP the Court has found that, where the client did not have sufficient information either in the bill itself, or from other information in his or her possession at the time that the bill was delivered, the bill / bills sent to the client by the solicitors were not statute bills for the purpose of the Solicitors Act, and that (although they had been paid) time for assessment did not start to run. This is an important decision for clients. Rather than just sending clients an invoice your solicitor must give the client sufficient information to take advice on whether or not to dispute the fees. If they do not then the bill is not a bill for the purposes of the Solicitors Act, and the Court will require the solicitors to deliver one that does comply with the Act. A full copy of the judgment is available via the link to the left.