A solicitor's retainer to advise on a dispute extends to advising on the comparative legal merits of all available courses of action, including alternatives not specifically raised by the client, where those alternatives have a material bearing on the client's rights. It is insufficient for a solicitor to raise alternative courses of action as discrete matters on separate occasions; the solicitor must advise concurrently on the comparative merits including prospects of success, risks and costs. However, a solicitor does not have a duty to make commercial decisions on behalf of the client. Where a client has formed a pre-existing intention based on their own assessment and prior advice from other sources, and the evidence overwhelmingly shows the client would not have changed course regardless of the solicitor's advice, the solicitor's breach of duty does not cause loss.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 11 later cases that cite this judgment.