Professional Negligence Compensation Claims Solicitors - No Win No fee - Dishonesty and Fraud

Dishonesty and fraud

As a general rule, claims arising out of dishonesty by a professional will not be insured. This means that, even with a professional negligence solicitor, you may be unable to recover the money you have lost. Whilst professional negligence solicitors cannot ensure that there is someone to pay a claim, we can help prevent insurers from avoiding liability, and investigate and secure the professional’s assets.

If the dishonest solicitor practices in a partnership then you should be able to pursue the innocent partners. They will be insured against the losses caused by their dishonest partner, provided that the losses arose out of the firm's usual business activities. If the solicitor concerned is a sole practitioner, or if all of the partners were dishonest, the options available are limited because the losses will not be covered by insurance.

Whilst professional negligence solicitors pursue most claims through the courts, the Law Society’s Compensation Fund will also make grants in respect of uninsured losses caused by a dishonest solicitor. You should bear in mind

Claims made later than 6 months from the date that you became aware of the problem are likely to be rejected
The Fund can award interest but will rarely award more than £75 towards legal costs in submitting the application.
You should seek specific advice about the costs that will be incurred before you instruct a professional negligence solicitor to make your application.
The Fund will not pay your professional negligence solicitor’s costs of pursuing a claim through the courts.

Hopefully this is an area about which you will never need advice from a professional negligence solicitor, but if you do, we can advise you more fully and, if necessary, assist you with any Compensation fund application.