Paying their due

The trustees of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund dismissed reports that they had been overcharged by their legal advisers, the Lon...

The trustees of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund dismissed reports that they had been overcharged by their legal advisers, the London solicitors Mishcon de Reya, which is seeking 800,000 for 11 weeks8217; work.

The firm, whose senior litigation partner, Anthony Julius, is the unpaid chairman of the trustees, also defended its charges, claiming that they had been discounted at 20 per cent. In a statement, the trustees said they were 8220;very satisfied8221; with Mishcon de Reya8217;s work and that the fees were 8220;if anything on the low side8221;. Julius, who won Diana her 28 million divorce settlement, rejected suggestions that he had a conflict of interest. He said he always left the room when the firm8217;s invoices came up on the agenda.

The reports suggested that some of the four other partners working on the fund charged up to 400 an hour. But legal sources said that senior partners in big London firms routinely charged that amount with assistant solicitors earning around 150 an hour.

One of the trustees,the writer and broadcaster Vivienne Parry, said: 8220;The financial benefits from the commercial projects being established by Mishcon de Reya will massively outweigh the costs of setting them up.8220;Of course we will keep an eye on the fees, but we can8217;t do something as big and complex as the memorial fund without the best legal advice.8221; She said that the trustees were 8220;as one8221; in their confidence in the firm8217;s handling of legal issues such as clearing copyright for the multi-million selling Diana Tribute Album and issuing licences for Diana memorabilia.8220;If you are doing something like this, you have to do it properly.

You can8217;t expect to pop into a local high street solicitors and ask them to do international copyright law, without which the Diana Tribute Album would never have come out. This firm was the Princess of Wales8217; first choice.

Furthermore, they have thrown resources at this and haven8217;t charged us for half of it.8221;Confirming the 800,000 figure, the firm8217;s statement said the money was for the cost of legal transactions and the 20 per cent discount was equivalent to its normal profit margin. A further 15 assistants were working on the fund8217;s affairs, assessing more than 1,500 projects and helping to establish rights to Diana8217;s name and image around the world.

John Jackson, the firm8217;s chairman, said: 8220;We regret that this leaked document has been sensationalised. We are satisfied that our fees are charged in a proper way and at a proper quantum.8221;The fund has raised about 57.7 million, much of it from sales of Elton John8217;s Candle in the Wind 8217;97 which has become the biggest selling single ever with sales of 33 million.