In a solicitor's negligence claim based on loss of opportunity to settle, the plaintiff must prove on the balance of probabilities that she would have acted differently if properly advised. Where the plaintiff is not asked how she would have acted, the court may have regard to contemporaneous facts and documents, but where multiple reasonable courses of advice were open and the evidence does not permit an inference as to which the plaintiff would have followed, causation is not established and only nominal damages are recoverable. A solicitor who has given emphatic advice on a point of law has a duty to inform the client when counsel's opinion contradicts that advice, even if the opinion is only preliminary.
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