This guide is for individuals and small-business owners in England and Wales who think their own solicitor got something wrong and it cost them money. It explains where a solicitor's duty comes from, how far it reaches, the standard applied, and what has to be proved about loss. If the problem arose on a property purchase, conveyancing has its own series, starting with what conveyancing solicitors commonly miss.
Where the solicitor's duty comes from
In contract
When you instruct a solicitor, you make a contract with the firm. Lawyers call it the retainer: the agreement about what work the firm will do, usually set out in an engagement letter. The law adds a term that the work will be done with reasonable care and skill. Which statute supplies it depends on who you are.
- Consumer clients. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 defines a consumer as "an individual acting for purposes that are wholly or mainly outside that individual's trade, business, craft or profession" (s.2(3)). A contract for a trader to supply a service to a consumer includes a term that the trader "must perform the service with reasonable care and skill" (ss.48–49), and a term excluding that liability does not bind the consumer (s.57(1)).
- Business clients. For anyone else, such as a company or a sole trader instructing a solicitor for the business, section 13 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 implies a term that a supplier acting in the course of a business "will carry out the service with reasonable care and skill". Section 12 excludes contracts covered by the Consumer Rights Act, so the two do not overlap. In a business contract the term can be varied by express agreement, subject to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (s.16), so any limit of liability in the engagement letter matters.
In tort
A solicitor can also owe a duty of care in the tort of negligence, alongside the contract. The House of Lords in Henderson v Merrett Syndicates [1995] 2 AC 145 accepted that clients can bring claims in tort against advisers they also have a contract with. The difference matters for time limits, because the Limitation Act 1980 deals separately with actions founded on contract (s.5) and on tort (s.2), and gives extra time for latent damage in an action for damages for negligence (s.14A): see time limits for claims against solicitors.
The retainer sets the limits
In Midland Bank Trust Co Ltd v Hett, Stubbs & Kemp [1979] Ch 384, Oliver J said there is "no such thing as a general retainer in that sense": the extent of a solicitor's duties "depends upon the terms and limits of that retainer".
In Credit Lyonnais SA v Russell Jones & Walker [2002] EWHC 1310 (Ch), Laddie J said a solicitor "is not a general insurer against his client's legal problems" and is "under no general obligation to expend time and effort on issues outside the retainer". But if, while carrying out instructions, a lawyer "notices or ought to notice a problem or risk for the client of which it is reasonable to assume the client may not be aware, the lawyer must warn him". The Court of Appeal in Lyons v Fox Williams LLP [2018] EWCA Civ 2347 added that this does not require a solicitor to carry out investigative tasks in areas they were not asked to deal with.
So the first question is: what was the solicitor instructed to do?
The standard: the reasonably competent solicitor
A bad outcome is not, on its own, negligence. The test usually applied, from the Midland Bank case, asks what the reasonably competent practitioner would do having regard to the standards normally adopted in the profession.
Common kinds of failure
Typical examples include:
- Missed deadlines: a claim not issued before the limitation period ran out, or a case struck out for failing to comply with court orders.
- Wrong advice: a mistaken view of the law on a contract dispute or on the effect of a settlement.
- Drafting errors: a lease, shareholders' agreement or commercial contract that does not say what the client agreed, or a will that fails to carry out the testator's wishes.
- Failing to warn of a risk: in Credit Lyonnais, solicitors instructed to serve a lease break notice did not warn the client of a condition that had to be met for the break to work.
- Failing to follow instructions: doing something other than what the client asked, or nothing at all.
Causation and loss
The claimant also has to show that the mistake caused a financial loss. The usual question is what would have happened if the solicitor had acted competently, compared with what actually happened.
Even a loss the mistake caused may fall outside what the solicitor is answerable for. In Manchester Building Society v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2021] UKSC 20, the Supreme Court held that "the scope of the duty of care assumed by a professional adviser is governed by the purpose of the duty", judged objectively. In plain terms, the court identifies the risk the advice was meant to guard against and asks whether the loss claimed is connected to that risk.
Where what was lost was a court case or deal that might have succeeded, the court may assess the lost chance rather than ask whether it would certainly have succeeded: see loss of a chance.
Insurance
Firms regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) must "take out and maintain qualifying insurance" with a participating insurer (SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules, rule 2.1). At the time of writing (October 2026), the SRA's minimum terms require cover of at least £3 million for any one claim, excluding defence costs, for firms that are relevant recognised bodies or relevant licensed bodies (broadly, firms with limited liability, such as companies and LLPs), and at least £2 million in all other cases. If a firm stops practising, its policy must normally provide run-off cover for a further six years.
Who the claim is against
The claim is normally brought against the firm. A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a body corporate "with legal personality separate from that of its members" (Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000, s.1(2)), and a company is likewise a separate legal person. Whether an individual solicitor in an LLP or company can also be personally liable is less certain. The Act's explanatory notes say the outcome "cannot be forecast with certainty" and point to factors such as whether the individual assumed personal responsibility for the advice and whether the client reasonably relied on that.
A complaint is not a negligence claim
The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints about service. In its own words, its job "is not to decide whether what happened amounted to professional negligence". At the time of writing (October 2026), its awards for loss, distress and putting things right are capped at £50,000 in total (Scheme Rules, rule 5.43), and once you accept a final decision, neither side may start or continue court proceedings about the same subject matter (rule 5.50). The two routes also run to different time limits: under its current rules, a complaint must ordinarily reach the Ombudsman within one year of the problem or of when you should reasonably have known about it (rule 4.5), while court claims are governed by the Limitation Act 1980. See complaining about a solicitor.
Before court proceedings, a negligence claim follows the Professional Negligence Pre-Action Protocol.
What a solicitor will want from you
- The engagement letter and terms of business, showing what the firm agreed to do and any limit of liability.
- The firm's advice, the documents it drafted, and your correspondence with it.
- A dated chronology: when you instructed the firm, when the mistake happened, and when you found out.
- What you would have done if properly advised, with any evidence from the time.
- Evidence of the financial loss you say followed.
- Any complaint you made, the firm's response, and any Legal Ombudsman correspondence.
This guide is general information about the law of England and Wales. It is not legal advice. Whether a solicitor was negligent turns on the retainer and the facts, and strict time limits apply to court claims, so the dates in your case matter.
Frequently asked
Is every mistake by a solicitor negligence?
No. The test is whether the solicitor fell below the standard of a reasonably competent solicitor doing that kind of work, not whether the outcome was bad. Even where there was a mistake, a claim also needs proof that it caused a financial loss of a kind the law allows you to recover.
Can a solicitor be blamed for something I never asked them to do?
Generally not. A solicitor's duties are defined by the retainer, meaning the job they agreed to do, and there is no general obligation to work on issues outside it. But a solicitor who notices, or ought to notice, a risk to the client while doing the job they were instructed to do is expected to warn the client about it.
Is a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman the same as a negligence claim?
No. The Legal Ombudsman looks at whether the level of service was acceptable, not whether there was negligence, and at the time of writing (October 2026) its awards for loss, distress and putting things right are capped at £50,000 in total. A negligence claim is decided by a court, and if you accept an Ombudsman decision you cannot then go to court about the same subject matter.
Do I sue the solicitor personally or the firm?
The claim is normally made against the firm you contracted with, which for a limited liability partnership or a company is a separate legal person. Whether an individual solicitor can also be personally liable depends on whether they personally took on responsibility to you, and the law on that is not settled.