Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Pre-action definition

What does Pre-action mean? Pre-action describes the stage before court proceedings are issued, when parties investigate the dispute, exchange information and attempt resolution. It is a descriptive expression rather than a statutory term, but in England and Wales it is structured by the Civil Procedure Rules via the Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols and specific Pre-Action Protocols (for example, debt, clinical negligence, construction, professional negligence and media claims). Typical steps include a letter before claim/letter before action, an informed response, proportionate disclosure of key documents, obtaining early expert input where needed, considering ADR/mediation, and addressing limitation (often with a standstill agreement). The...

Precedent letter of claim under the Professional Negligence Protocol against accountants for negligent tax avoidance scheme advice (England and Wales)

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Precedents

ARCHIVED : This Precedent has been archived and is not maintained.

[ON THE HEADED NOTEPAPER OF CLAIMANT’S SOLICITORS]

For the attention of [ MANAGING PARTNER ]
[ NAME OF DEFENDANT ACCOUNTANT ]
[ ADDRESS LINE 1 ]
[ ADDRESS LINE 2 ]
[ POSTCODE ]
[ DATE ]

Dear [ insert organisation name ]

[ PROSPECTIVE CLAIMANT’S NAME ] AND [ PROSPECTIVE DEFENDANT’S NAME ]

LETTER OF CLAIM

We refer to our letter of [ insert date ]. That correspondence served as an initial notice of claim issued under the Pre-action protocol for Professional Negligence (the Protocol), and called for your acknowledgement by [ insert date ].

[ We have received your letter dated [ insert date ] confirming receipt of the initial notice of claim. [ Nevertheless, we await confirmation that your Professional indemnity insurers have been notified of the circumstances of our client’s claim against you. Please also send them a copy of this letter and confirm to us once this has been done. ] OR We cannot locate an acknowledgement of our initial notice of claim and request confirmation, by return, that our correspondence has been received. ]...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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