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ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - LONG TITLE

An Act to amend the law relating to the Remuneration of Attorneys
and Solicitors.{1}
[14th July 1870]
Preamble rep. by SLR 1893 (No.2)

Short title.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 1

1. This Act may be cited as "The Attorneys' and Solicitors' Act,
1870."

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 3
Interpretation of terms.

3. In the construction of this Act, unless where the context
otherwise requires, the words following have the significations
herein-after respectively assigned to them; that is to say,

The words "attorney or solicitor" mean an ..., solicitor, ...,
qualified according to the provisions of the Acts for the time
being in force, relating to the admission and qualification of ...,
solicitors, ...:

"Person" includes a corporation:

"Client" includes any person who, as a principal or on behalf of
another person, retains or employs, or is about to retain or
employ, an ... solicitor, and any person who is or may be liable
to pay the bill of an ... solicitor for any services, fees, costs,
charges, or disbursements.

The remuneration of solicitors may be fixed by agreement.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 4

4. An ... solicitor may make an agreement in writing with his
client respecting the amount and manner of payment for the whole or
any part of any past or future services, fees, charges, or
disbursements in respect of business done or to be done by such
... solicitor, whether as an ... solicitor or as an advocate or
conveyancer, either by a gross sum, or by commission or percentage,
or by salary or otherwise, and either at the same or a greater or
at a less rate as or than the rate at which he would otherwise
be entitled to be remunerated, subject to the provisions and
conditions in this part of the Act contained: Provided always, that
when any such agreement shall be made in respect of business done
or to be done in any action at law or suit in equity, the amount
payable under the agreement shall not be received by the ...
solicitor until the agreement has been examined and allowed by a
taxing officer of a court having power to enforce the agreement;
and if it shall appear to such taxing officer that the agreement
is not fair and reasonable he may require the opinion of a court
or a judge to be taken thereon by motion or petition, and such
court or judge shall have power either to reduce the amount payable
under the agreement or to order the agreement to be cancelled and
the costs, fees, charges, and disbursements in respect of the
business done to be taxed in the same manner as if no such
agreement had been made.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 5
Saving of interests of third parties.

5. Such an agreement shall not affect the amount of, or any rights
or remedies for the recovery of, any cost recoverable from the
client by any other person, or payable to the client by any other
person, and any such other person, may require any costs payable or
recoverable by him to or from the client to be taxed according to
the rules for the time being in force for the taxation of such
costs, unless such person has otherwise agreed: Provided always, that
the client who has entered into such agreement shall not be
entitled to recover from any other person under any order for the
payment of any costs which are the subject of such agreement more
than the amount payable by the client to his own ... solicitor
under the same.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 6
Agreements shall exclude further claims.

6. Such an agreement shall be deemed to exclude any further claim
of the ... solicitor, beyond the terms of the agreement in respect
of any services, fees, charges, or disbursements in relation to the
conduct and completion of the business in reference to which the
agreement is made, except such services, fees, charges, or
disbursements, if any, are as expressly excepted by the agreement.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 7
Reservation of responsibility for negligence.

7. A provision in any such agreement that the ... solicitor shall
not be liable for negligence, or that he shall be relieved from
any responsibility to which he would otherwise be subject as such
... solicitor, shall be wholly void.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 8
Examination and enforcement of agreements.

8. No action or suit shall be brought or instituted upon any such
agreement; but every question respecting the validity or effect of
any such agreement may be examined and determined and the agreement
may be enforced or set aside, without suit or action, on motion or
petition of any person, or the representative of any person, a
party to such agreement, or being or alleged to be liable to pay,
or being or claiming to be entitled to be paid, the costs, fees,
charges, or disbursements in respect of which the agreement is made
by the court in which the business, or any part thereof, was done,
or a judge thereof, or if the business was not done in any court,
then where the amount payable under the agreement exceeds [#2,000],
by any superior court of law or equity or a judge thereof, and
where such amount does not exceed [#2,000], by the judge of a
county court which would have jurisdiction in an action upon the
agreement.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 9
Improper agreements may be set aside.

9. Upon any such motion or petition as aforesaid, if it shall
appear to the court or judge that such agreement is in all
respects fair and reasonable between the parties, the same may be
enforced by such court or judge by rule or order in such manner
and subject to such conditions, if any, as to the costs of such
motion or petition as such court or judge may think fit; but if
the terms of such agreement shall not be deemed by the court or
judge to be fair and reasonable, the same may be declared void,
and the court or judge shall thereupon have power to order such
agreement to be given up to be cancelled, and may direct the
costs, fees, charges, and disbursements incurred or chargeable in
respect of the matters included therein to be taxed in the same
manner and according to the same rules as if such agreement had
not been made; and the court or judge may also make such order as
to the costs of and relating to such motion or petition, and the
proceedings thereon, as to the said court or judge may seem fit.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 10
Agreements may be re-opened after payment in special cases.

10. When the amount agreed for under any such agreement has been
paid by or on behalf of the client, or by any person chargeable
with or entitled to pay the same, any court or judge having
jurisdiction to examine and enforce such an agreement may, upon
application by the person who has paid such amount, within twelve
months after the payment thereof, if it appears to such court or
judge that the special circumstances of the case require the
agreement to be re-opened, re-open the same, and order the costs,
fees, charges, and disbursements to be taxed, and the whole or any
portion of the amount received by the ... solicitor to be repaid
by him on such terms and conditions as to the court or judge may
seem just.

Where any such agreement is made by the client in the capacity of
guardian, or of trustee under a deed or will, or of committee of
any person or persons whose estate or property will be chargeable
with the amount payable under such agreement, or with any part of
such amount, the agreement shall before payment be laid before the
taxing officer of a court having jurisdiction to enforce the
agreement, and such officer shall examine the same, and may disallow
any part thereof, or may require the direction of the court or a
judge to be taken thereon by motion or petition; and if in any
such case the client pay the whole or any part of the amount
payable under the agreement, without the previous allowance of such
officer or court or judge as aforesaid, he shall be liable at any
time to account to the person whose estate or property is charged
with the amount paid, or with any part thereof for the amount so
charged; and if in any such case the ... solicitor accept payment
without such allowance, any court which would have had jurisdiction
to enforce the agreement may, if it think fit, order him to refund
the amount so received by him under the agreement.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 11
Prohibition of certain stipulations.

11. Nothing in this Act contained shall be construed to give
validity to any purchase by an ... solicitor of the interest, or
any part of the interest, of his client in any suit, action, or
other contentious proceeding to be brought or maintained, or to give
validity to any agreement by which an ... solicitor retained or
employed to prosecute any suit or action, stipulates for payment
only in the event of success in such suit, action, or proceeding.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 12
As to contracts, &c. void in bankruptcy.

12. Nothing in this Act contained shall give validity to any
disposition, contract, settlement, conveyance, delivery, dealing, or
transfer, which may be void or invalid against a trustee or
creditor in bankruptcy, arrangement, or composition, under the
provisions of the laws relating to bankruptcy.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 13
Provision in case of death or incapacity of solicitor.

13. Where an ... solicitor has made an agreement with his client
in pursuance of the provisions of this Act, and anything has been
done by such ... solicitor under the agreement, and before the
agreement has been completely performed by him, such ... solicitor
dies or becomes incapable to act, an application may be made to
any court which would have jurisdiction to examine and enforce the
agreement by any party thereto, or by the representatives of any
such party, and such court shall thereupon have the same power to
enforce or set aside such agreement, so far as the same may have
been acted upon, as if such death or incapacity had not happened;
and such court, if it shall deem the agreement to be in all
respects fair and reasonable, may order the amount due in respect
of the past performance of the agreement to be ascertained by
taxation, and the taxing officer in ascertaining such amount shall
have regard so far as may be to the terms of the agreement, and
payment of the amount found to be due may be enforced in the same
manner as if the agreement had been completely performed by the ...
solicitor.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 14
As to change of solicitor after agreement.

14. If, after any such agreement as aforesaid shall have been made,
the client shall change his ... solicitor before the conclusion of
the business to which such agreement shall relate (which he shall
be at liberty to do notwithstanding such agreement), the ...
solicitor, party to such agreement, shall be deemed to have become
incapable to act under the same within the meaning of section
thirteen of this Act, and upon any order being made for taxation
of the amount due to such ... solicitor in respect of the past
performance of such agreement, the court shall direct the taxing
master to have regard to the circumstance under which such change
of ... solicitor had taken place; and, upon such taxation, the ...
solicitor shall not be deemed entitled to the full amount of the
remuneration agreed to be paid to him unless it shall appear that
there has been no default, negligence, improper delay, or other
conduct on his part affording reasonable ground to the client for
such change of ... solicitor.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 15
Agreements shall be exempt from taxation.

15. Except as in this part of this Act provided, the bill of an
... solicitor for the amount due under an agreement made in
pursuance of the provisions of this Act shall not be subject to
any taxation ...

Security may be taken for future costs.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 16

16. An ... solicitor may take security from his client for his
future fees, charges, and disbursements, to be ascertained by
taxation or otherwise.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 17
Interest may be allowed on taxations in respect of disbursements and
advances.

17. Subject to any general rules or orders hereafter to be made
upon every taxation of costs, fees, charges, or disbursements, the
taxing officer may allow interest at such rate and from such time
as he thinks just on moneys disbursed by the ... solicitor for his
client and moneys of the client in the hands of the ... solicitor,
and improperly retained by him.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 18
Taxing officer to have regard to character of services.

18. Upon any taxation of costs, the taxing officer may, in
determining the remuneration, if any, to be allowed to the ...
solicitor for his services, have regard, subject to any general
rules or orders hereafter to be made, to the skill, labour, and
responsibility involved.

ATTORNEYS' AND SOLICITORS' ACT 1870 - SECT 19
Revival of order for payment of costs.

19. Whenever any decree or order shall have been made for payment
of costs in any suit, and such suit shall afterwards become abated,
it shall be lawful for any person interested under such decree or
order to revive such suit, and thereupon to prosecute and enforce
such decree or order, and so on from time to time as often as
any such abatement shall happen.

S.20 rep. by 1976 NI 12 art.82(1) sch.3