Solicitor denies billing client £300-an-hour to play golf The court heard the disputed charge for the alleged "golf day" was part of a £37,800 bill for Mr Wiseman handling High Court litigation involving three of Mr Sullivan's companies, in October and November 2009. Mark Tomassi, for Mr Sullivan, told the judge: "The important allegation is that he was charging for a full day's, 13 and a half hours, work when he took the full day off and charged for it." The barrister, addressing Mr Wiseman in the witness box, put to him that evidence showed that he had also charged his client £600 for a two-hour meeting they had in a cafe and alleged that he had also put in a bill for his full hourly rate for two "friendly" dinners out the pair had enjoyed at Mr Sullivan's expense. "You would be wined and dined and subsequently you presented Mr Sullivan with a bill which charged him £300 for each hour you were dining...It cost him £600 for the pleasure of your company for two hours in a cafe," the barrister put to him. Mr Wiseman accepted he charged for the two-hour meeting in the cafe but denied presenting a bill for the evening dinners. Mr Tomassi told the judge that, for Mr Sullivan to sucessfully defend the defamation claim, "what needs to be justified is the allegation that he (Mr Wiseman) was charging for 13-and-a-half-hour days when he was playing golf or away from the office for other purposes." Jacob Dean, for Mr Wiseman, told the court his client admits he is a member of the country club and played golf there during the time he was advising Mr Sullivan. However he maintains he only charged his client for two hours' work on the crucial day, work which he did. "At the heart of this case is an allegation that my client charged Mr Sullivan for time he was on the golf course...If that allegation is not proved, the libel is proved," he told the judge. He accepts he played golf on Novemeber 20, starting at 11am, and two hours were charged for that day. That is the amount of work that he did for that day," the barrister added. Mr Wiseman himself, in the witness box, said he had worked as a solicitor for 40 years and dismissed the allegations against him as "absolute nonsense." Insisting he had charged Mr Sullivan reasonably, he added: "I was full on from the moment I had instructions and dealt with a great deal of work." Asking for a substantial award of libel damages, Mr Dean said: "This libel clearly touches on the core attributes of Mr Wiseman's professional reputation, accusing him of being a dishonest solicitor fraudulently charging for work which was not done." The High Court hearing, set to last four days, continues.