A solicitor's statutory charge under s 244(1) of the Legal Practice Act 2003 (WA) requires a sufficient causal connection between the solicitor's work and the recovery or preservation of property; where competing caveats were not in fact removed through the solicitor's efforts but by subsequent proceedings brought by another party, no statutory charge arises. The question whether removal of a caveat constitutes 'recovery or preservation' of property, and whether a statutory charge can take priority over a prior registered mortgage, remain open.
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