The UK High Court has firmly slammed the brakes on a law firm’s attempt to undo a maximum-level award made by the Legal Ombudsman, effectively telling solicitors that you cannot pick and choose your procedural niceties when you’ve lost a complaint.
The court rejected the Kent-based law firm Knights Solicitors, headed by Matthew Knight, (pictured) to reduce the fees payable by £66,000. The firm’s bid for a judicial review of the Ombudsman’s £50,000 compensation order to former clients, finding that the firm wasn’t entitled to court-style disclosure in the ombudsman process and that there was no basis to overturn the award.
The Judge made clear that challenging an Ombudsman decision on the basis it wasn’t court-like in form doesn’t fly; it’s not a judicial process and never was. The ruling underscores the wide latitude afforded to the Ombudsman under its statutory scheme in the UK — courts won’t lightly interfere with “fair and reasonable” outcomes even at the cap’s limit.
The decision is a robust warning that firms seeking to chip away at adverse ombudsman rulings on technical grounds face an uphill battle.
