A six-figure claim lodged against a solicitor seven years after he gave up practice has raised the spectre of the Legal Services Commission (LSC) aggressively recouping historic legal aid funding, despite a partial amnesty agreed earlier this year.

The commission has launched a High Court claim against Sham Loomba of Isleworth, West London, to recover £205,758, which it says was paid on account for work that was not properly billed. With interest, running at £45 a day, the claim adds up to more than £210,000.

Loomba is contesting the claim. His solicitor, Paul Ridge, associate at London firm Bindmans, described the action as ‘highly unfair’.

He said that Loomba gave up practice seven years ago in a ‘very reputable’ manner.

Richard Miller, head of legal aid policy at the Law Society, said that more solicitors could find themselves in Loomba’s position. ‘This is not an isolated case,’ he said. ‘I am aware of a number of solicitors who... are facing these claims.’

Earlier this year, the LSC agreed with the Law Society not to pursue historic payments of less than £20,000 from practices that ceased legal aid work before 31 March 2002.

However, in a statement it said that in other cases it would continue to pursue money for which no bills are submitted. ‘Solicitors have a contractual duty to accurately report at the end of a case so that all financial matters can be dealt with,’ it said.

Ridge said Loomba had put in a full defence and had applied for a stay of four weeks to allow a settlement to be reached.