Refusal of law firms to disclose fees criticised

The master of the High Court has complained that some of the largest law firms in the State, the sort whose clients "give blank…

The master of the High Court has complained that some of the largest law firms in the State, the sort whose clients "give blank cheques", are unwilling to disclose the fees they charge.

Edmund Honohan said legal costs reforms would not benefit such firms for which, he said, "the day of reckoning is nigh".

Mr Honohan made the remark when announcing that he was beginning a review of 20 cases before him to determine the exact legal costs involved and to see if standard rates may be set. His intention was to give a greater understanding on the breakdown of legal costs and he would give judgment on the review in May, he said.

The master has already made costs orders in the 20 cases and is now deciding the amount of those costs. He has asked the parties involved to submit itemised bills of costs and said he was disappointed that three leading law firms had declined to take part in the review or disclose their fees.

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The three included one of the largest law firms, the type of firm whose clients wrote "blank cheques", he remarked.

The move comes as Minister for Justice Michael McDowell plans to reform the way legal costs are assessed, with costs of solicitors and counsel itemised on a "work done" basis.

Mr Honohan said the sooner the legal profession got to grips with the new proposed system of costs the better. Litigation costs were traditionally assessed at the end of a case and the fees charged were correlated to the value of the case.

Traditionally, costs are assessed by the taxing master, "an in-house expert", but the High Court retains the final say.

The outcome of his review of the pilot programme would be "a balancing of legal fees" and would mean that the people "who do the work" would get paid, "people like solicitors and junior counsel who do the bulk of the work in the lower courts, while senior counsel will lose out".

He noted that in one case, a solicitor had submitted a bill for €500 for a time commitment of one hour and 45 minutes. In another case, a solicitor who estimated he had done six hours work had put in a bill for €1,000.

The court heard that counsel who conducted infant ruling cases in the Circuit Court could command a fee of €2,500 while a Garda compensation case in the High Court for an award of €17,500 could mean a bill of €1,000 for a barrister. The brief fee in a criminal case was about €1,200 with €700 a day for the trial and €600 for the sentencing.

Mr Honohan said the perception was that lawyers were getting all the money. "Some are not getting enough and some are making too much," he added.