Lawyerment - Case and Codes - Legal Profession Act 1976

(a) purchase or agree to purchase either directly or indirectly an interest or any part of the interest which is the subject matter of his client or that of the other party in the same suit, action or other contentious proceeding brought or to be brought or maintained; or

(b) enter into any agreement by which he is retained or employed to prosecute any suit or action or other contentious proceeding which stipulates for or contemplates payment only in the event of success in such suit, action or proceeding.

(2) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to legalise any purchase or agreement prohibited by subsection (1) or to any disposition, contract, settlement, conveyance, delivery, dealing or transfer which is void or invalid against-

(a) the Official Assignee under the law relating to bankruptcy;

(b) a liquidator or receiver under the law relating to the winding-up of companies; or

113. The Solicitors Costs Committee.

(1) The Solicitors Costs Committee shall consist of the following persons-

(a) the Chief Justice or a Judge of the High Court nominated by the Chief Justice (in this section referred to as "the Chief Justice or his nominee").

(b) the Attorney General or a member of the Attorney General's Chambers nominated by the Attorney General;

(d) four advocates and solicitors nominated by the Bar Council.

(2) The Solicitors Costs Committee shall be convened by the Chief Justice at the request of any of its members. *

(3) The Solicitors Costs Committee or any four of the members of the Committee (the Chief Justice or his nominee being one) may make general orders prescribing and regulating in any manner as they think fair and reasonable the remuneration of advocates and solicitors in respect of non-contentious business and any order made under this section may revoke or alter any previous order so made.

(4) An order made under this section may, as regards the mode of remuneration, prescribe that it shall be according to a scale of rates or commission or percentage, varying or not in different classes of business, or by a gross sum, or by a fixed sum for each document prepared or perused, without regard to length, or in any other mode, or partly in one mode and partly in another, and may regulate the amount or remuneration with reference to all or any the of the following, among other, considerations:

(a) the position of the party of whom the advocate and solicitor is concerned in the business, whether as vendor or purchaser, lessor or lessee, mortgagor or mortgagee, and the like;

(b) the place where, the circumstances in which, the business or any part it is transacted;

(d) the skill, labour and responsibility involved on the part of the advocate and solicitor;

(e) the number and importance of the documents prepared or perused, without regard to length.

(5) An order under this section may authorise and regulate-

(a) the taking by an advocate and solicitor from his client of security for payment of any remuneration, to be ascertained by taxation or otherwise, which may become due to him under any such order; and

(b) the allowance of interest.

(6) So long as an order made under this section is in operation, taxation of bills of costs of advocates and solicitors in respect of non-contentious business shall, subject to section 121, be regulated by that order.

(7) Section 136 shall apply to any order made under this section.

114. Advocate and solicitor may make agreement for remuneration from client.

(1) Whether or not any order is in force under section 113, an advocate and solicitor and his client may, either before or after or in the course of the transaction of any noncontentious business, make an agreement as to the remuneration of the advocate and solicitor in respect thereof: Provided that such agreement shall not provide for costs at a scale lower than that provided by any order made under section 113.

(2) The agreement may provide for the remuneration of the advocate and solicitor by a gross sum, or by commission or percentage, or by salary, or otherwise, and it may be made on the terms that the amount of the remuneration stipulated in the agreement shall or shall not include all or any disbursements made by the advocate and solicitor in respect of searches, plans, traveling, stamps, fees or other matters.

(3) The agreement shall be in writing and signed by the person bound by it or as his agent on his behalf.

(4) The agreement may be sued and recovered on or set aside in the like manner and on the like grounds as an agreement not relating to the remuneration of an advocate and solicitor: Provided that if on any taxation of costs the agreement is relied on by the advocate and solicitor and objected to by the client as unfair or unreasonable, the taxing officer may inquire into the facts and certify them to the Court, and if on that certificate it appears just to the Court that the agreement should be canceled, or the amount payable thereunder reduced, the Court may order the agreement to be canceled, or the amount payable to be reduced, and may give such consequential directions as the Court thinks fair and reasonable.

115. Advocate and solicitor entitled to costs of negotiation mortgagor.

(1) If a mortgage is made to an advocate and solicitor, either alone or jointly with any other person, he, or the firm of which he is a member, shall be entitled to recover from the mortgagor in respect of all business transacted and acts done by him or them in negotiating the loan, deducing and investigating the title to the property, and preparing and completing the mortgage, such usual costs as he or they would have been entitled to receive if the mortgage had been made to a person who was not an advocate and solicitor and the mortgagor had retained and employed him or them to transact that business and do these acts.

(2) If a mortgage has been made to, or has become vested by transfer or transmission in, an advocate and solicitor either alone or jointly with any other person, and any business is transacted or acts are done by that advocate and solicitor, or by the firm of which he is a member, in relation to that mortgage or the security thereby created or the property comprised thereunder, then he or they shall be entitled to recover from the mortgagor on whose behalf the business was transacted or the acts were done, and to charge against the security, such usual costs as he or they would have been entitled to receive if the mortgage had been made to, and had remained vested by transfer or transmission in, a person who was not an advocate and solicitor and that mortgagor has retained and employed him to transact that business and do these acts.

(3) In this section the word "mortgage" includes any charges on any property for securing money or money's worth.

116. Advocate and solicitor may enter agreement for costing contentious business.

(1) Subject to the provisions of any written law, an advocate and solicitor may make an agreement in writing with his client respecting the amount and manner of payment for the whole or any part of his costs in respect of contentious business done or to be done by such advocate and solicitor, either by a gross sum, or otherwise, and either at the same rate or at a greater or lesser rate than the rate at which he would otherwise be entitled to be remunerated.

(2) Every such agreement shall be signed by the client and shall be subject to this Part.

117. Costs recoverable from client by other person not attested

(1) Any agreement entered into pursuant to section 116 shall not affect the amount of, or any rights or remedies for the recovery of, any costs recoverable from the client by any other person or payable to the client by any other person, and any other person may require any costs payable by him to or recoverable by him from the client to be taxed according to the rules for the time being in force for the taxation of such costs, unless such other person had otherwise agreed: Provided that the client who has entered into any agreement shall not be entitled to recover from any other person, under any order for the payment of any costs which are the subject of the agreement more than the amount payable by the client to his own advocate and solicitor.

(2) Such an agreement shall be deemed to exclude any further claim of the advocate and solicitor beyond the terms of agreement in respect of any services, fees, charges or disbursements in relation to the conduct and completion of the business in reference to which the agreement is made, except such services, fees, charges or disbursements, if any, as are expressly excepted by the agreement.

(3) Subject to this Part, the costs of an advocate and solicitor in any case where there is any agreement as is referred to in section 116, shall not be subject to taxation, nor to section 124.

(4) A provision in any such agreement which states that the advocate and solicitor shall not be liable for negligence, or that be shall be relieved from any responsibility to which he would otherwise be subject as an advocate and solicitor, shall be wholly void.

118. Enforcement of agreements.

(1) No action or suit shall be brought or instituted upon any agreement as is referred to in section 116, but every question respecting the validity or effect of any such agreement, may be examined and determined, and the agreement may, be enforced, varied or set aside by suit or action by summons, motion or petition by any person or the representatives of any person being a party to such agreement, or being alleged to be liable to pay, or being or claiming to be entitled to be paid the costs, fees, charges or disbursements in respect of which the agreement is made, by the Court in which the business or any part thereof was done, or a Judge of the Court, or, if the business was not done in any Court, then by the High Court or

(2) Upon any such summons, motion or petition, if it appears to the Court or a Judge that such agreement is in all respects fair and reasonable between the parties, the agreement may be enforced by the Court or a Judge by rule or order, in the manner and subject to the conditions, if any, as to the costs of the summons, motion or petition as the Court or the Judge thinks fair and reasonable.

(3) If the substantive terms of any agreement are deemed by the Court or the Judge to be unfair or unreasonable, the agreement may be declared void, and the Court or Judge may thereupon order the agreement to be given up for cancellation, and may direct the cost, fees, charges and disbursements incurred or chargeable in respect of the matters included therein to be taxed, in the same manner and according to the same rules as if the agreement has not been made: Provided that the Court or Judge may amend or ratify the agreement where not all the substance of the agreement is unfair or unreasonable.

(4) The Court or the Judge may also make such order as to the costs relating to the summons, motion or petition and the proceedings, thereon as to the Court on the Judge seems fair and reasonable.

(5) When the amount agreed under such agreement has been paid by or on behalf of the client or by any person chargeable with or entitled to pay the same, any Court or a Judge having jurisdiction to examine and enforce the agreement may, on application by the person who has paid the amount within twelve months after payment and, if it appears to the Court or Judge that the special circumstances of the case require the agreement to be reopened, reopen the agreement and order the costs, fees, charges and disbursements to be taxed, and the whole or any portion of the amount received by the advocate and solicitor to be repaid by him, on such terms and conditions as to the Court or Judge seems fair and reasonable.

(6) Where any agreement is made by the client in the capacity of guardian or of trustee under a deed or will, or of committee of any person or persons whose estate or property will be chargeable with the amount payable under the agreement or with any part of the amount, the agreement shall before such payment be laid before the Registrar for his examination and the Registrar may disallow any part thereof, or may require the direction of the Court or a Judge to be taken thereon by summons, motion or petition.

(7) If in any such case-

(a) the client pays the whole or any part of the amount payable under the agreement without the previous approval of the Registrar or the Court or the Judge, he shall be liable at any time to account to the person whose estate or property is charged with the amount paid, or with any part thereof, for the amount so charged; and

(b) the advocate and solicitor accepts payment without such approval, any court which would have had jurisdiction to enforce the agreement may, if it thinks fair and reasonable, order him to refund the amount so received by him under the agreement or any part thereof,

119. Any party may set aside agreement of deceased advocate and solicitor not performed

(1) Where an advocate and solicitor has made an agreement with his client in pursuance of section 115 and anything has been done by the advocate and solicitor under the agreement, and, before the agreement has been completely performed by him, the advocate and solicitor dies or becomes incapable of acting an application may be made to the court by any party to the agreement or by the representatives of the party, and the Court shall thereupon have the same power to enforce or set aside the agreement, if it had not be acted upon.

(2) The Court, even if it considers the agreement to be in all respects fair and reasonable, may order the amount due in respect of the business done thereunder to be ascertained by taxation.

(3) The Registrar is ascertaining any such amount shall have regard, so far as may be, to the terms of the agreement.

(4) Payment of the amount found to be due may be enforced in the same manner as if the agreement had been completely performed by the advocate and solicitor.

120. Where client changes counsel before agreement performed.

(1) Notwithstanding the existence of any agreement under section 116, a client may change his advocate and solicitor before the conclusion of the business to which the agreement relates and in that case the advocate and solicitor who is a party to the agreement shall be deemed to have become incapable of acting under the same within the meaning of this section,

(2) Upon any order being made for taxation of the amount due to an advocate and solicitor in respect of business done under the agreement, the Court shall direct the Registrar to have regard to the circumstances under which the change of advocate and solicitor has taken place.

(3) Upon taxation the advocate and solicitor shall not be considered to be entitled to the full amount of the remuneration agreed to be paid to him unless it appears that there has been no default, negligence, improper delay or other conduct on his part affording reasonable ground to the client for changing his advocate and solicitor.

121. Where remuneration of advocate and solicitor not subject of agreement.

(1) Where the remuneration of an advocate and solicitor in respect of contentious business done by him is not the subject of an agreement made pursuant to section 116, the solicitor's bill of costs may at the option of the advocate and solicitor either contain detailed items or be for a gross sum: Provided that-

(a) at any time before service upon him of a writ or other originating process for the recovery of costs included in a gross sum bill and before the expiration of three months from the date of the delivery to him of the bill, the party chargeable therewith may require the advocate and solicitor to deliver to him in lieu of the cost a bill containing detailed items, and the gross sum bill shall thereupon be of no effect;

(b) where an action is commenced on a gross sum bill, the Court shall, if so requested by the party chargeable therewith before the expiration of one month from the service on that party of the writ or other originating process, order that the bill shall be taxed;

(c) if a gross sum bill is referred to taxation, whether under this section or otherwise, nothing in this section shall prejudice any rules of court with respect to taxation and the advocate and solicitor shall furnish the taxing officer with such details of any of the costs covered by the bill as the taxing officer may require.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to fees paid to an advocate and solicitor who is briefed as a senior counsel.