In an unprecedented move, the Law Society has written to the senior partners of more than 500 firms in England and Wales highlighting the damage that their greed has caused to the profession. The letter says that the coal health claims scandal, exposed by The Times last year, has severely dented public confidence in solicitors.

Law firms involved in the £7.5 billion compensation scheme received a fixed fee from the Department of Trade and Industry for every case settled. Some earned multimillion-pound profits by handling thousands of claims. Many solicitors also sliced money off clients’ compensation by charging a success fee or as a payment to a claims handler or trade union.

The Law Society has received a thousand complaints about overcharging; 550 have been resolved and £150,000 in compensation has been repaid. Law firms have also voluntarily refunded about £3.6 million, which represents only a small fraction of the money — thought to be at least £50 million — deducted by solicitors.

The society’s decision to urge repayment of all the deductions may reflect the greater independence that has been granted to its complaints handling and regulation directorates.

In a letter sent to 515 firms, the Law Society says: “It is plain that the continued controversy concerning solicitors’ charges in these cases has a significant impact on the reputation of the profession, and thus on public confidence in it and in the legal system. We urge firms which have not already done so to return to all clients any additional charges which they may have made in these cases.”

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