Legal Profession Act 2007

A costs agreement that contravenes, or is entered into in contravention of, any provision of this division is void.

Subject to this section and division 7, legal costs under a void costs agreement are recoverable as set out in section 319(1)(b) or (c).

However, a law practice is not entitled to recover, as set out in section 319(1)(b) or (c), any amount in excess of the amount the law practice would have been entitled to recover if the costs agreement had not been void and must repay any excess amount received.

A law practice that has entered into a costs agreement in contravention of section 324 is not entitled to recover the whole or any part of the uplift fee and must repay the amount received in relation to the uplift fee to the person from whom it was received.

A law practice that has entered into a costs agreement in contravention of section 325 is not entitled to recover any amount relating to the provision of legal services in the matter to which the costs agreement related and must repay any amount received relating to those services to the person from whom it was received.

If a law practice does not repay an amount required by subsection (3), (4) or (5) to be repaid, the person entitled to be repaid may recover the amount from the law practice as a debt in a court of competent jurisdiction.