My legal team wants slice of my compensation

jj880

Hi,

I have a court case where 2 offers has been made to me by the defendants.

They made an initial offer in which the amount was separate from all legal fees in the case. All fees were to be covered by an insurance company. We know this because the defendants council had to contact the insurance company during negotiations.

I refused the first offer and my legal team were confident they could get an improved offer.

A few weeks later they contacted me to say they have an updated offer. The amount offered is acceptable but they are now saying my legal costs are to come out of this improved amount.

This actually means I get slightly less than the original offer after my legal fees are subtracted. I think this is very suspect as surely their legal fees are covered through the insurance company the same as the defendant's legal fees?

Also the amount of legal fees they are taking out of the amount offered is very dodgy for the length of time the case has been running. It looks to me like it could be "double dipping" and my legal team are just looking to get some extra cash via a slice of my compensation.

Both offers were without prejudice.

I really feel at this late stage in the case that my own legal team is turning on me.

My question is can I verify what they are saying in any way or am I completely at their mercy? Can I take advice from anywhere maybe another solicitor? Is there a body setup to help me know my rights in this situation?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Pat Mustard

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