In contrast to the attitude of major firms of accountants (and, indeed, actuaries), solicitors have been generally reluctant to seek to agree limitations of liability with their clients. Such limitations are permissible under the professional conduct rules provided they are not less than the minimum level of cover required by the Law Society – £3m for limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and £2m for other firms.
Research by the City of London Law Society in 1999 found a quarter of all respondent firms did include provisions to limit their liability, although most did so only rarely. Significantly, more than half of the respondents expressed concern that they might become uncompetitive if they sought to impose limitations in circumstances where other firms had no such policy.
