[22] The premium charged by the Defendant may or may not be justified. The settlement achieved by the Defendant appears to have been advantageous to the Plaintiff, but the parties dispute exactly how advantageous the settlement should have been to warrant a premium on the bill.
[23] In any case, the obscuring of the premium, combined with the Defendant’s refusal to produce copies of its dockets and its trust and client ledgers, constitutes the kind of special circumstance that section 11addresses. It is one thing to charge a premium for success where this billing is properly disclosed; it is quite another thing to hide the fact that a premium has been charged. It will be for the Assessment Officer to determine whether the Defendant’s bill is or is not too high.