A clever way to obtain more in a settlement for the Claimant

It was suggested to me recently that a great way to squeeze more out of a Respondent when negotiating on behalf of a Claimant is to get the Respondent to agree to pay the legal fees of the Claimant directly plus VAT divorced from the actual compensation figure.

The fees are payable directly to the Claimant's solicitors whilst the compensation is payable to the Claimant. Accordingly, the Respondent Company can then claim back the VAT back on the fees saving the Claimant being burdened by the VAT payment he would have to pay his solicitor on the fees. I have not checked out the legalities of this but a tax accountant friend said that seemed a legitimate way of doing things.