Signature of bill

Megantic Services Ltd v Dorsey & Whitney [2008] EWHC 2662 QBD 15 July

Until 7 March 2008, s69 of the Solicitors Act 1974 provided that a solicitor’s bill of costs to the client must be signed by the solicitor or one of his partners, either in his own name or in the name of the firm. For bills delivered after 7 March 2008, The Legal Services Act 2007 amended s69 to require a bill to be signed by the solicitor or on his behalf by an employee of the solicitor authorised by him to sign. In the present case, a series of bills had been delivered to the client before 7 March 2008, which had been signed by an individual who, although described as a senior partner, was not in fact a solicitor, but was a non-practising barrister. The clients contended that as the bills did not comply with the Solicitors Act, no action should be begun on them.