Our client came to us in October 2024 after receiving an enormous $1,106,220.10 legal bill from their commercial lawyer.
Because of the size of the bill, we moved quickly. When we reviewed the documents, we discovered that the lawyer had only provided a costs agreement estimating fees between $5,000 and $7,000. This was a clear breach of their legal obligation to properly disclose costs.
To challenge the lawyer fees, we filed a summons for taxation in the Supreme Court of Victoria, Costs Court, asking the Court to review the entire bill.
At an early directions hearing, the Court ordered us to prepare a notice of objections, which set out exactly why we believed the fees were excessive and where our client had been overcharged.
After filing the objections, the matter proceeded to mediation with a court-appointed mediator. Following a full day of negotiations, we reached a settlement that reduced the legal bill by $150,000.
Our client was extremely pleased with the outcome and the substantial reduction achieved.