Legal fees from 2016 to 2021

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.026981

I note you seek access to the following information:

New Request
Thanks, please could I get the same information for the years 2016 to 2020?
So, external costs - counsel; external costs - professional fees; total settlement payments; external costs - counsel civil claims; external costs - professional fees civil claims.

I also have some additional questions:

1. What constitutes professional fees?
2. What else does the Met employ external counsel and pay professional fees for besides civil claims?
3. For each year (2016 to 2021), please could you advise how many civil claims the Met made settlement payments for?
4. In 2016-2020, how much money did the Metropolitan Police spend (in total) on legal expenses?
5. In 2016-2020, how much money did the Metropolitan Police pay (in total) in civil claims? You might have a figure for damages and/or damages and legal costs and/or civil claims as a whole. Please provide whatever relevant figures you have and specify what they relate to.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

Q1 - What constitutes professional fees?

The Directorate of Legal Services contracts out some work to external law firms. ‘Professional fees’ are the fees charged by these firms for working on MPS cases.

Q2 - What else does the Met employ external counsel and pay professional fees for besides civil claims?

In addition to civil claims, the Directorate of Legal Services pays fees for the following work: Employment, Community Policing, Inquests and Inquiries and Operational work.

Q3 - For each year (2016 to 2021), please could you advise how many civil claims the Met made settlement payments for?

Met settlement payments* in civil claims (Malfeasance, Public Liability and Traffic claims) between 2016 and 2021 were as follows:

 1 January – 31 December 2016 = 788
 1 January – 31 December 2017 = 796
 1 January – 31 December 2018 = 940
 1 January – 31 December 2019 = 1,080
 1 January – 31 December 2020 = 949
 1 January – 31 December 2021 = 1,096
*by way of settlement agreement or court award.

Q4 - In 2016-2020, how much money did the Metropolitan Police spend (in total) on legal expenses?

It is not possible to provide a full picture of the costs incurred as in-house costs are not held, as explained below. We can, however, provide the cost of external professional and counsel fees.

In-house Costs – Met staff and facilities
This information not held and this is because basic costs such as facilities, e.g., stationery, etc., are not recorded on a granular level. In relation to staff costs, a number of in-house staff may have completed work associated with the case, including say Admin Assistants. Fee earners (lawyers and paralegals) are the only ones who record the time they spend working on each case. We can supply the total amount of time spent on the cases by those fee earners, but it is not possible to provide the cost of that time without calculating it using the Met’s Ready Reckoner. Therefore the cost of Directorate of Legal Services fee earners is not information that is ‘held’, as we would have to produce information to answer the question.

External Costs - Counsel
The total payments made in relation to counsel (barrister) fees for the calendar year 1 January 2016 -31 December 2020 are £11,984,564

External Costs – Professional Fees
The total payments made in relation to professional fees in the calendar year 1 January 2016 - 31 December 2020 are £12,336,966

Q5 - In 2016-2020, how much money did the Metropolitan Police pay (in total) in civil claims? You might have a figure for damages and/or damages and legal costs and/or civil claims as a whole. Please provide whatever relevant figures you have and specify what they relate to.

The total settlement payments (by way of settlement agreement or court award) in civil claims’ paid in the calendar year 1 January 2016 - 31 December 2020 are £24,504,428.27

*Malfeasance, Public Liability and Traffic claims (threatened and issued civil actions)
It is not possible to provide a full picture of the costs incurred in civil claims as in-house costs are not held, as explained below. We can, however, provide the cost of external professional and counsel fees.

In-house Costs – Met staff and facilities
Information not held. Basic costs such as facilities, e.g., stationery, etc., are not recorded on a granular level. In relation to staff costs, a number of in-house staff may have completed work associated with the case, including say Admin Assistants. Fee earners (lawyers and paralegals) are the only ones who record the time they spend working on each case. We can supply the total amount of time spent on the cases by those fee earners, but it is not possible to provide the cost of that time without calculating it using the Met’s Ready Reckoner. Therefore the cost of Directorate of Legal Services fee earners is not information that is ‘held’, as we would have to produce information to answer the question.

External Costs - Counsel
The total payments made in relation to counsel (barrister) fees in civil claims* in the calendar year 1 January 2016 - 31 December 2020 are £2,284,533.28

External Costs – Professional Fees
The total payments made in relation to professional fees in civil claims* in the calendar year 1 January 2016 -31 December 2020 are £6,278,970.16