- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (01/11/2015)
- Original (As enacted)
Solicitors Act 1974
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
More Resources
Changes over time for: Section 57
Alternative versions:
- 01/02/1991- Amendment
- 01/01/1992- Amendment
- 01/01/2010- Amendment
- 23/12/2011- Amendment
- 01/11/2015
Point in time
Status:
Point in time view as at 01/11/2015.
Changes to legislation:
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Solicitors Act 1974, Section 57.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.
57 Non–contentious business agreements.E+W
(1)Whether or not any order is in force under section 56, a solicitor and his client may, before or after or in the course of the transaction of any non–contentious business by the solicitor, make an agreement as to his remuneration in respect of that business.
(2)The agreement may provide for the remuneration of the solicitor by a gross sum [F1or by reference to an hourly rate], or by a commission or percentage, or by a salary, or otherwise, and it may be made on the terms that the amount of the remuneration stipulated for shall or shall not include all or any disbursements made by the solicitor in respect of searches, plans, travelling, [F2taxes] , fees or other matters.
(3)The agreement shall be in writing and signed by the person to be bound by it or his agent in that behalf.
(4)[F3Subject to subsections (5) and (7)], the agreement may be sued and recovered on or set aside in the like manner and on the like grounds as an agreement not relating to the remuneration of a solicitor.
(5)If on any [F4assessment] of costs the agreement is relied on by the solicitor and objected to by the client as unfair or unreasonable, the [F5costs officer] may enquire into the facts and certify them to the court, and if from that certificate it appears just to the court that the agreement should be set aside, or the amount payable under it reduced, the court may so order and may give such consequential directions as it thinks fit.
[F6(6)Subsection (7) applies where the agreement provides for the remuneration of the solicitor to be by reference to an hourly rate.
(7)If, on the [F7assessment] of any costs, the agreement is relied on by the solicitor and the client objects to the amount of the costs (but is not alleging that the agreement is unfair or unreasonable), the [F8costs officer] may enquire into—
(a)the number of hours worked by the solicitor; and
(b)whether the number of hours worked by him was excessive.]
Textual Amendments
F1S. 57(2) words inserted by Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41, SIF 76:1), s. 98(2)
F2Word in s. 57(2) substituted (1.1.2010) by Legal Services Act 2007 (c. 29), ss. 177, 211, Sch. 16 para. 55(a) (with ss. 29, 192, 193); S.I. 2009/3250, art. 2(f)(ii) (with art. 9)
F3S. 57(4) words substituted by Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41, SIF 76:1), s. 98(3)
F4Word in s. 57(5) substituted (1.1.2010) by Legal Services Act 2007 (c. 29), ss. 177, 211, Sch. 16 para. 55(b)(i) (with ss. 29, 192, 193); S.I. 2009/3250, art. 2(f)(ii) (with art. 9)
F5Words in s. 57(5) substituted (1.1.2010) by Legal Services Act 2007 (c. 29), ss. 177, 211, Sch. 16 para. 55(b)(ii) (with ss. 29, 192, 193); S.I. 2009/3250, art. 2(f)(ii) (with art. 9)
F7Word in s. 57(7) substituted (1.1.2010) by Legal Services Act 2007 (c. 29), ss. 177, 211, Sch. 16 para. 55(c)(i) (with ss. 29, 192, 193); S.I. 2009/3250, art. 2(f)(ii) (with art. 9)
F8Words in s. 57(7) substituted (1.1.2010) by Legal Services Act 2007 (c. 29), ss. 177, 211, Sch. 16 para. 55(c)(ii) (with ss. 29, 192, 193); S.I. 2009/3250, art. 2(f)(ii) (with art. 9)
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1S. 57 extended (1.1.1992) by Administration of Justice Act 1985 (c. 61, SIF 34), s. 9, Sch. 2 para. 22(2); S.I. 1991/2683, art. 2
S. 57 extended (22.5.2000) by S.I. 2000/1119, regs. 1, 37(3), Sch. 4 para. 7(2) (as amended (1.7.2009) by The Legal Services Act 2007 (Registered European Lawyers) Order 2009 (S.I. 2009/1587), art. 3(7)(c))
C2S. 57 applied (with modifications) (23.12.2011) by The Legal Services Act 2007 (Designation as a Licensing Authority) (No. 2) Order 2011 (S.I. 2011/2866), art. 1(2), Sch. 1 paras. 1, 3, 5
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Act
PrintThe Whole Part
PrintThe Whole Cross Heading
PrintThis Section only
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.