Studio B Hair Design Pty Ltd t/as Studio B Hair Design v Kerrison t/as Kerrisons Legal Services

The case before the court involved Studio B Hair Design Pty Ltd, trading as Studio B Hair Design, and Kerrison, trading as Kerrisons Legal Services. The dispute centred around a solicitor’s lien held over the proceeds of a sale of a business held in trust. The court was required to determine whether the extension of time granted by the court for an application to have assessed costs reviewed allowed the lien to apply to those assessed costs and to the costs of the proceedings themselves. The relevant legislation in question was section 144 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law 2014 (NSW), which addresses the circumstances under which a solicitor’s lien can be exercised in relation to disputed costs.

The primary legal issue was whether the extension of time for the application to review the assessed costs, granted by the court, permitted the solicitor’s lien to apply to those costs and the costs of the proceedings. The court had to interpret section 144 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law 2014 (NSW) to ascertain if it allowed for the exercise of a solicitor’s lien in respect of the contested costs. The court needed to balance the rights of the solicitor to claim their fees from the proceeds of the sale with the obligations of the client to pay those fees within a reasonable timeframe.

The court found that the extension of time granted for the application to review the assessed costs did indeed allow the solicitor’s lien to apply to those costs and to the costs of these proceedings. The interpretation of section 144 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law 2014 (NSW) supported the exercise of the lien in these circumstances. The court concluded that the lien was valid and enforceable under the given conditions. Consequently, the solicitor was entitled to claim their fees from the proceeds of the sale held in trust. The court’s decision upheld the solicitor’s right to enforce the lien in respect of the disputed costs, aligning with the statutory provisions.