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Legal Services Bill [HL]

One has to keep a sense of proportion about all this. If significant and serious loss is caused by the negligence of a solicitor, the proper remedy is to sue in the courts. This sort of compensation is limited to inconvenience or distress caused to the complainant as a result of matters connected with the complaint. The sum of £50,000 would never be awarded in the courts of this country for inconvenience or distress. The most frequent type of award made is for the inconvenience and distress caused by the loss of a holiday. These are all fairly limited sums. The sum of £20,000 is certainly the maximum that has ever been awarded for that sort of distress and inconvenience, so I think that we have to keep a sense of proportion and a limitation on the powers of the ombudsman.