A solicitor who charged a client $1.7 million in costs is fighting to retain the fee despite a finding by an independent costs assessor that the bill was excessive.Solicitor overcharged whistleblowing client … Cost assessment … Client charged $1.7 million … Breach of duty … Breach of trust account regulations … Nearly eight years on … It’s not over yet … Daniel Ahern is on the case
A solicitor who charged a client $1.7 million in costs is fighting to retain the fee despite a finding by an independent costs assessor that the bill was excessive.
William Grace who practised in northern NSW charged $1,712,125.59, consisting of professional costs of $861,034.40 and disbursements of $851,091.19. The amount included a claim of 150 hours for “constant weekend work” and a 25 percent uplift fee from January 9, 2006.
Grace was acting for Robert Bennie, a former police officer who exposed corruption in the NSW Police Force. As a result of his whistleblowing he was subjected to harassment and bullying over an extended period of time.
Grace acted for him in a damages claim against his employer, for which the State of NSW was vicariously liable, and he was awarded damages of $2,236,408.
An independent costs assessment found that Grace over-charged his former client by $186,141. Grace has not paid the money back to Bennie.
In April 2014, during the course of the practitioner-client costs assessment, Grace attempted to appeal a preliminary determination to the NSW Supreme Court.
The assessment was stayed while this occurred, but the appeal was found to be incompetent as a preliminary determination cannot be the subject of an appeal. A costs order of $28,485.90 was made against Grace. This costs bill still has not been paid.
In March 2016, the solicitor issued another appeal, pleading substantially the same case in the District Court at Lismore, and this appeal was similarly found to be incompetent, but no order of costs was made.
In July 2016, Bennie filed a notice of motion in the Supreme Court of that fresh proceedings brought by Grace should be stayed completely, or at least until such time as the $186,141 in over-charged legal fees is payed to him.
On receipt of the verdict moneys into his trust account in 2009, Grace disbursed the moneys to pay his own costs and disbursements, without issuing a bill – a breach of the trust account regulations.
Bennie’s new solicitor Rosemary Ryan entered into correspondence with the Grace asserting that no bill had ever been sent to Bennie. Grace then twice sent a copy of a bill to an address at which Bennie no longer resided. On March 5, 2010, a bill was finally received by Ryan.
Bennie says in breach of the regulations and the solicitor’s fiduciary duty Grace still holds the money to which he is not entitled – over seven years later.
Associate Justice Joanne Harrison summarised Grace’s current case as such:
“In order for Grace to succeed in his current appeal he will need to establish either:
Grace discharged the onus to show he had reasonable prospects of success in establishing these matters, and his appeal was not summarily dismissed.
However, a stay was granted until Grace come up with $10,000 as security for costs, a necessary measure in part because the costs for his 2014 appeal were still outstanding.
Grace was incarcerated in the Currumbin psychiatric clinic in July 2015, and has been certified as unfit to work as a solicitor and consequently has been unable to earn an income through his legal practice.
He says his impecuniosity is attributable in large part to the defendant’s conduct over the years which led to his mental breakdown in July 2014. The court made no finding about this, only acknowledging that Bennie would have been a “difficult client”.
Grace told the court that he suffers from mental health and financial problems, and that his appeal is bona fide and a genuine attempt to protect himself from a determination that will have a drastic impact on these personal issues.
He currently describes himself as an “infirm solicitor”. His infirmity is said to relate to a number of matters, including “tort law reform, bad financial advice and the stress of acting for the defendant”.
He owns no real property, the family home being in his wife’s name.
From July 2014, Grace’s daughter conducted his practice until April 2016 when she left to work in London. It is now run by his wife Bernadette Grace who was admitted to as a solicitor in New South Wales on July 1, 2016.