Undersettling

As a lawyer you have a duty to act in the client's best interests. Sometimes clients want us to act contrary to this duty. In this respect generally see Clients ignoring your advice. Where your advice is not to settle and where the client wants to settle regardless, then there is a risk that the client may later have a change of heart and seek to blame you.

To protect you, you will need a suitable and detailed disclaimer, tailored to the facts. What you need is very fact specific, however, we have provided an example from a family matter. This refers to a spouse seeking to accept in settlement less than the court would order or settling without having undertaken financial disclosure. Ultimately, we can do what the client wants, but there is a serious risk, and we are required to protect the client from decisions they may later regret. There are a lot of resources to help you on this. There is a general Guidance Note on Clients Instructing You to Act Contrary to Their Best Interests, there is a general recording of a CPD session on in the Context of Employment Law and there is a the long form Note on in Employment Matters that accompanies that presentation. There is also a family law themed example disclaimer.

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