If a client has a problem with a solicitor and is considering making a claim on the Law Society Compensation Fund, that claim must be received by the Law Society within six months of the loss coming to attention of the claimant. This new time limit was introduced following the introduction of the Solicitors (Compensation Fund) Regulations, 2013 and came into operation on 1st December 2013.
It is possible for the Law Society to extend this six month deadline in exceptional circumstances but proving exceptional circumstances can be very difficult.
We have acted in a number of cases involving allegations of wrongdoing by solicitors and quite often although the wrongdoing had been brought to the attention of the client, the client continued to instruct the solicitor, sometimes because the solicitor assured them that everything would be all right in the end, and sometimes out of a misplaced sense of loyalty.
This six month deadline concerns claims to the Law Society Compensation Fund but does not affect the standard time limit for suing a solicitor for negligence. In these cases you still have six years from the time when the negligence occurs. The high profile cases of Michael Lynn and Thomas Byrne involved claims made to the Law Society Compensation Fund because the clients could show that the solicitor had acted dishonestly and clients had lost money. If a solicitor acts negligently then you still have six years to issue your proceedings against the solicitor.
In cases of dishonesty however, it is critical that immediately you become aware of a situation which you think might be dishonest, you either contact a solicitor or contact the Law Society.
Kevin Brophy,
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