Slaughter and May has become embroiled in a rare £2.2m fees spat. The firm is being sued by US-based litigation client Euro Trade & Forfaiting, which claims that Slaughters has overcharged it for work done between autumn 2000 and August last year.
Euro Trade filed a claim with the High Court on 19 February. The company is being represented by Hammonds’ spin-off insurance litigation practice Praxis Partners.
The claim form, which was served on Slaughters last month, requests a full breakdown of the magic circle firm’s fees since 2000 and requests that all the bills be taxed.
Euro Trade, represented by Praxis partner Andrew McDougall, has also asked the court to prevent Slaughters from making any counterclaim to recover unpaid fees.
Sources close to the case say that Euro Trade has settled in full 21 of the bills issued to it, but the company has declined to pay the last two bills totalling £853,946, which relate to the period between May and August last year.
The dispute relates to a series of cases in the High Court, the UK Employment Tribunal, the Geneva Court of First Instance and the New York District Court on which Slaughters advised Euro Trade or its parent company.
Praxis declined to comment. Slaughters said that the firm strongly denies any wrongdoing.