A solicitor's duty to investigate a client's potential common law damages claim and to provide timely, comprehensible advice is not discharged merely because a barrister subsequently gives non-negligent advice on the hearing day, particularly where the client is under pressure and may not fully understand the advice. The advocate's immunity from suit extends to advice given by a barrister in the context of settlement negotiations at a hearing, where that advice is critical to the client's decision as to the conduct of the case. In loss of chance claims against solicitors, the court must determine what advice should have been given, what the client's response would have been, and resolve conflicting expert evidence on the standard of care.
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