Duties to Clients and Client Care
Legal Services > Duties to Clients and Client Care
Duties to clients and client care are at the core of a solicitor's professional obligations. SQE1 tests whether you understand what solicitors owe their clients in terms of service quality, communication, and costs transparency - and critically, where those duties have limits when they conflict with other obligations or the public interest.
What Is Duties to Clients and Client Care in SQE1?
Candidates frequently lose marks on SQE1 by overlooking the requirement to provide costs information at the outset — the SRA mandates clear, upfront disclosure of costs, and examiners test this repeatedly. The SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors sets out specific obligations regarding how solicitors must treat their clients. These go beyond the general SRA Principles and include practical requirements around competence, communication, costs information, and client autonomy. The overarching duty is to provide a proper standard of service that is competent, delivered in a timely manner, and takes account of the client's needs and circumstances.
Understanding client care duties is essential to navigating real-world scenarios and exam questions. These duties interact with Conflicts of Interest rules and the duty to act in the client's best interests while subject to SRA Principles, particularly when the public interest conflicts with the client's wishes.
Key Principles for SQE1
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Competence: Solicitors must only act where they have the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience, or can acquire them in a timely and cost-effective way (paragraph 3.2, SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors). Competence is not just formal qualification; it is whether you can handle this specific matter safely.
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Client Communication: Solicitors must keep clients informed about the progress of their matter, any key developments, and any changes to the costs estimate. Communication must be clear and frequent enough that clients understand the stage their matter has reached.
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Costs Information: Solicitors must provide clients with the best possible information about the likely overall cost of the matter, including the basis and terms of charges, at the outset and throughout the retainer (paragraphs 8.6–8.11, SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors).
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Client Autonomy: The client makes the key decisions about their matter (accept settlement, proceed to trial, withdraw); the solicitor advises but does not dictate. This is a fundamental principle that examiners test frequently.
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Vulnerable Clients: Solicitors must take extra care when dealing with clients who may be vulnerable due to age, disability, mental health, language barriers, or other factors. This requires proactive consideration, not just waiting for clients to ask for help.
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Third-Party Funders: A solicitor's primary duty is to the client; a funder's interests cannot override the duty to act in the client's best interests. The funder cannot be given a veto over key decisions.
Exam tip
The funder trap is classic: your duty to the client always takes priority over the funder's interests, even where the funder bears the financial risk. The client makes the key decisions. You cannot give the funder a veto. Competence is not just formal qualification—it is whether you can handle this specific matter safely. If you cannot, refer it or involve a specialist colleague.
How This Appears in SQE1 Questions
SQE1 questions on client care often present a scenario where a solicitor fails to provide adequate costs information, takes on work beyond their competence, or fails to keep a client informed. The trap is assuming that good intentions are enough—the SRA Code requires specific, proactive steps. Watch for questions testing the duty to provide costs information at the outset and whether the solicitor has complied with the SRA's transparency requirements.
A solicitor agrees to handle a complex tax dispute but has no experience in tax law. She does not seek advice from a specialist colleague or refer the client elsewhere. The case goes poorly and the client suffers a financial loss.
This is a classic SQE1 trap.
Common Mistakes Students Make
- Assuming competence means only formal qualifications—it includes practical experience and the ability to handle the specific matter safely.
- Forgetting the duty to provide costs information at the outset, not just when the client asks for it.
- Overlooking the obligation to inform clients about their right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman.
- Confusing the solicitor's duty to advise with the right to make decisions—the client decides; the solicitor advises.
Quick Summary
- Competence (paragraph 3.2): solicitors must have necessary knowledge, skills and experience or acquire them in timely and cost-effective way; must not act outside their competence.
- Costs information (paragraphs 8.6-8.11): solicitors must provide best possible information about likely overall cost, basis of charges and terms at the outset and throughout the retainer.
- Client communication: solicitors must keep clients informed about progress, key developments and any changes to costs.
- Client autonomy: client makes key decisions about their matter; solicitor advises but does not dictate.
- Vulnerable clients: solicitors must take extra care for vulnerable clients (age, disability, mental health, language barriers).
- Third-party funders: solicitor's primary duty is to the client; funder's interests cannot override the duty to act in client's best interests.
Want to test this now? Try a few SQE1-style questions below before moving on.
Test Yourself
Test yourself
Quick check questions based on this article.
Question 1
Scenario
A solicitor at a large commercial firm is instructed by a corporate client to pursue arbitration proceedings against a joint venture partner. The dispute concerns breach of a shareholders' agreement and is valued at approximately £10 million. The corporate client has substantial resources. The solicitor prepares a detailed costs estimate and sends the client a client care letter setting out the terms of the private retainer. The letter specifies hourly rates for the team. The client's in-house legal team asks the solicitor whether the firm would be willing to enter into a conditional fee agreement instead, arguing that this would transfer some of the costs risk. The solicitor considers the proposal. The client's head of legal recently attended a conference on dispute funding. The senior associate has three years of post-qualification experience in commercial arbitration. The estimated total costs are between £300,000 and £500,000.
Which of the following best explains why a CFA may be suitable or unsuitable for this type of dispute?
Question 2
Scenario
A solicitor is instructed by a client to bring a breach of warranty claim against the seller of a business. The client purchased a restaurant for £250,000 and subsequently discovered that turnover figures were significantly overstated. The client estimates her loss at £80,000. The client has limited savings and cannot fund the litigation privately. She does not have legal expenses insurance. The solicitor discusses third-party litigation funding. A funder agrees to fund the claim in return for 35% of any damages recovered. The solicitor explains that the funder will pay the solicitor's fees and disbursements, and the client will not be required to make payments unless the claim succeeds. The client asks what obligations the solicitor owes to the funder. The client's husband runs a separate catering business but has no involvement. The funder has previously funded three similar claims against the same defendant. The client asks whether the solicitor can prioritise the funder's commercial interests.
Which of the following best describes the solicitor's professional obligations in relation to the third-party funder?
Question 3
Scenario
A solicitor practising in a high-street firm is instructed by a client who has been injured in a road traffic accident. The client suffered a traumatic brain injury and the claim is likely to involve complex issues of future loss and care costs. The solicitor's firm handles straightforward personal injury claims but has no experience of brain injury cases. The solicitor is concerned about losing the client's business if she refers the matter elsewhere. The firm's senior partner has told the solicitor that all new instructions should be retained wherever possible. The solicitor agrees to act and begins investigating the claim. She does not consult any specialist brain injury solicitors or consider referring the matter. The solicitor has reviewed several online articles about brain injury claims in an attempt to educate herself. The client's condition is deteriorating and early rehabilitation funding may be available if the claim is progressed competently.
Which of the following best describes the solicitor's position?
Practice with full exam-style questions
Related Topics
- SQE1 Legal Services: Complete Guide
- SRA Principles and Professional Conduct
- Conflicts of Interest
- Confidentiality and Legal Professional Privilege
Practise Duties to Clients and Client Care Questions for SQE1
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