When is ‘Poor Advice’ Negligent?

When does poor advice actually fall below the legal standard? We explain how to know when you may have a negligence claim.

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What should you be entitled to expect from your solicitor? Like any profession, there are excellent solicitors, average ones and some who fall short. It can be difficult to tell the difference unless you have some legal knowledge or the advice you’ve received has been clearly and obviously poor.

A client isn’t automatically entitled to the very best legal advice that money can buy — and just because another solicitor may have done a better job doesn’t necessarily mean that your solicitor has acted negligently.

So, when does poor advice actually fall below the legal standard?

Get in touch to book a free, no-obligation consultation today by calling 0333 043 3230 or emailing hello@solicitorsnegligence.co.uk.

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Reasonable care & skill

The general rule is that a solicitor must carry out their work and give advice using reasonable care and skill. This is a legal requirement under section 13 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 — but what does ‘reasonable care and skill’ mean in practice?

Well, the courts apply the standard of the 'reasonably competent solicitor'. This means that a solicitor is judged against what a typical, competent solicitor would have done in the same situation — not against the very best in the profession.

In Midland Bank v Hett, Stubbs & Kemp, the court explained that a solicitor shouldn’t be judged by the standards of a “particularly meticulous and conscientious practitioner”. Instead, the test is what a reasonably competent solicitor would have done, based on the usual standards in the profession.

In short, clients are entitled to expect advice and representation that meets the level of care and skill that a reasonably competent solicitor would provide.

A difference of opinion

In some cases, legal advice is clearly right or wrong. Yet often the law isn’t black and white. There may be more than one reasonable view on how to interpret or approach a legal issue.

Just because two solicitors take different views doesn’t mean that one of them is negligent. As one court put it: a solicitor isn’t negligent if they act in-line with a practice that’s accepted as ‘proper’ by a reasonable group of other solicitors — even if others may disagree.

In addition, when looking at whether a solicitor was negligent, the court will consider what was known at the time the advice was given — not what became clear later. It’s easy to look back and say what should have been done differently, but that’s not how the law works. The solicitor’s actions will be judged based on the information that they had at the time — not with the benefit of hindsight.

Relying on barristers

Solicitors often work alongside barristers (also known as ‘counsel’) — particularly in court proceedings or complex legal matters. While barristers are typically responsible for providing specialist legal opinions and advocacy, solicitors remain responsible for managing the overall case and advising the client.

In the past, a solicitor who properly instructed a barrister was generally not held liable for relying on that barrister’s advice — even if the advice turned out to be wrong. However, that approach changed in the 1980s.

Today, a solicitor is expected to exercise their own independent judgement when working with a barrister. They can’t simply follow a barrister’s advice without question. If the advice appears to be clearly wrong — or if it raises obvious concerns — the solicitor has a duty to challenge it or seek clarification.

In short, while it’s still appropriate for a solicitor to rely on a barrister’s expertise, they must not do so blindly. They’re expected to think critically, act in the client’s best interests and take responsibility for the advice they pass on.