Our client was charged over $500,000 for a commercial law dispute with a bank. Upon careful examination of the solicitor's cost agreement and invoices, we found several instances of unjust law practices. These included undisclosed increases in multiple hourly rates charged by lawyers within that firm, and occurrences of duplicated work between them. While their initial estimate of total legal costs was $10,000, they ended up charging 50 times more. Although this estimate was later updated, but not to the extent necessary.
Despite our efforts to negotiate a resolution, including participation in a Court-ordered mediation, the matter ultimately proceeded to an assessment by the Costs Court in Victoria, where we achieved a significant outcome. It was determined that the solicitor should have charged no more than $430,000, resulting in an over $70,000 reduction for our client. The law firm was also directed to cover our client's costs of assessment, which are the fees the client paid to us to take their former lawyer to Court.