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Legal Services Bill [HL]

I am not quite as encouraged as I was hoping to be by the noble Baroness’s response and her self-injunction to listen. I certainly accept that the amendment as it stands is not sufficiently balanced. I accept that the specific reference to vexatious appeals is needed. On the other hand, I think that we have enough anecdotal evidence to know the degree of threat under the present system—which is not entirely valid because costs cannot be awarded in some of those cases. This clause refers to, for example, a person being responsible for unreasonable delay. An ordinary, relatively vulnerable client will often hesitate for a long time before taking action, not unreasonably expecting the lawyer at some time to take their complaint seriously. The question of unreasonable delay is a little loose. We can meet the balanced approach, but the area for costs to be awarded needs to be a bit narrower than is provided here.