Judge critical of solicitor’s ‘suicide abatement’ bill

A law firm that charged a client €200 an hour for “suicide abatement” by a solicitor came under fire from the president of the High Court yesterday.

Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns was also highly critical of taxing master James Flynn for approving a €212,000 bill from the Galway firm of solicitors, which included €14,000 for “suicide abatement” phone calls and emails with a client who had been awarded €800,000 following a serious traffic accident in 1993.

Included in the bill presented by Keane Solicitors of Eyre Square was €18,800 for reading school reports for the case, €70,000 to deal with over 1,000 letters, and €22,000 for 111 hours spent arranging appointments. These were part of an overall bill for more than €300,000 relating to a road accident case.