Informed Consent and Legal Costs: Why Law Firms Are More Exposed Than Ever

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Informed consent has become one of the highest-risk areas in modern legal practice, particularly in relation to legal costs. What was once treated as routine onboarding is now a frequent trigger for costs disputes, regulatory complaints, and serious financial exposure.

Informed consent failures are at the heart of many solicitor–client challenges — often years after a case has concluded.

What Does Informed Consent Actually Mean?

Informed consent requires solicitors to ensure that clients fully understand:

How their matter will be priced
The likely overall cost
Any deductions from damages
Any costs that are unusual, high, or potentially irrecoverable

This information must be provided clearly, accurately, and in advance — not buried in complex retainers or explained retrospectively. It is not a one-off requirement at the start of instructions but an ongoing obligation.

Importantly, the burden of proof always sits with the solicitor, not the client.

Why This Is a Growing Commercial Risk

Clients are increasingly challenging fees under the Solicitors Act 1974, often arguing that they never gave proper informed consent. These challenges can result in:

Detailed assessments on the indemnity basis
Substantial reductions or repayment of fees
Legal Ombudsman complaints (with mandatory case fees)
Serious disruption to cash flow and management time

Industry commentary suggests the scale of exposure across historic cases could reach billions of pounds .

How The Legal Lexi Helps

The Legal Lexi is a platform through which with firms are able to identify weaknesses during their sign-up processes, offers cost explanations, tests and documents understanding avoiding any future costly and time-consuming dispute.

Still unsure?

Schedule a live demo via Teams and see in less than 30 minutes how The Legal Lexi can easily fit into your firm’s workflows to give you confidence that you have your clients’ informed consent and protect your entitlement to costs.

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