On 13 May 2014 I will be giving a Continuing Professional Development seminar for the College of Law. Details are here.
I will be speaking on recent developments in English law in the area of client communications, what they mean for Australian lawyers, and how to ensure clients understand the advice they are given.
The impetus behind the seminar is the case of Levicom International Holdings BV v Linklaters (A Firm) [2009] EWHC 812 where advice was given by Linklaters to Levicom regarding arbitration proceedings. As a result of this advice, Levicom settled on far less favourable terms than they otherwise would have. The judge, Smith J, held that while the contents of the advice itself was not negligent, the way it was communicated to the clients was and therefore, Linklaters was liable.
On appeal, Lord Justice Stanley Burnton (with whom the rest of the Court of Appeal agreed) in Levicom International Holdings BV v Linklaters (a firm) [2010] EWCA Civ 494 upheld the trial judge’s findings on this point and went further to say the advice itself was negligent because of the way it was expressed. Both cases show that soft skills are in fact becoming hard skills; the client must understand a lawyer’s advice, and this understanding will be queried by the court.
