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The High Court determined an application by a plaintiff seeking the release of her legal file from her former solicitors to enable her to be represented in ongoing litigation against her employer, following a breakdown in the solicitor-client relationship and the termination of a "no foal, no fee" agreement. The former solicitors resisted, asserting their entitlement to a lien over the file pending payment of outstanding fees, but had not yet provided a bill of costs. Given the imminent redundancy process facing the plaintiff, the urgency of her need for representation, and the solicitors’ delay in providing a bill and responding to a data access request, the court ordered a conditional release of the file subject to undertakings to secure the solicitors’ fees, allowing either a new solicitor or the plaintiff herself to access the file. The court's order was crafted to balance the interests of both parties and ensure the plaintiff's right of access to justice was not irreparably undermined.
application for release of legal file – solicitor’s common law lien – no foal – no fee agreement – breach of contract – penalisation – Protected Disclosures Acts 2014–2022 – termination of solicitor-client relationship – bill of costs – GDPR data access request – Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 – balancing hardship – access to justice – employment dispute – redundancy process – legal costs undertaking – High Court procedural relief
Note: This is intended to be a fair and accurate report of a decision made public by a court of law. Any errors should be notified to the editor and will be dealt with accordingly.
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