Insolvency Case Study 2

Bell Lax were instructed by a sole practitioner solicitor to recover fees from her client by means of a bankruptcy petition.

The case involved a complex legal argument concerning the circumstances in which a solicitor may petition for their client’s bankruptcy due to non-payment of legal fees.

The Respondent argued that solicitors’ fees were not capable of forming the basis of a statutory demand as they were an unliquidated sum and, accordingly our client’s petition should fail. Our client’s position was that the Respondent had agreed to pay the outstanding fees which rendered the fees as a liquidated sum.

Our client’s petition resulted in a contested bankruptcy hearing. At that hearing, the judge decided that our client was entitled to payment of her outstanding fees in full and the Respondent was made bankrupt. Our client recovered all of the money owed to her and all of her legal costs incurred in connection with instructing Bell Lax.