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WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A SOLICITOR?
The following are key:-
- KNOWS WHAT THE LAW IS
Clearly you need a solicitor with experience in the relevant field and one who has sufficient background qualifications in that field.
- STRAIGHTFORWARD FEE
Some solicitors give the whole industry a bad name by their approach to invoicing. Many solicitors charge on a time-costed basis which encourages inefficiency. For example, one solicitor could produce a Report in half an hour which would take another Solicitor four hours. The same document would therefore vary in price from £100 to £800.
Rewarding inefficiency in this manner is something that may be about to end, once Alternative Business Structures are in place.
I have had an extremely bad experience myself. I instructed an Employment Solicitor “Amanda Capon” for general advice on an Employment matter. I saw her for two hours. I then received a bill after receiving a lengthy 8 page letter, totalling £1900.00. Despite my emails requesting her only to carry out a limited amount of work, given that I had signed a Client Care Letter and given the fact that I had not instructed her to cease working, it was found by the Small Claims Court that I was due to pay her the full amount. She charged 4 hours to produce a letter which she typed herself! The court stated it was a misunderstanding, however as the client, I was required to pay for the breakdown in communication.
It is, therefore, imperative that the terms of engagement are clear and you need to be aware that once you sign a Solicitor’s Client Care Letter it can, in some cases, be a virtual licence to print money.
- REALISTIC
Some Solicitors are optimistic. Some solicitors are pessimistic. Some solicitors will give an indication that your chances of success are greater or worse than they actually are. It is important to instruct a Solicitor with a similar attitude to risk as your own.
- ALTERNATIVES
The Solicitor should point out the various options open to you.
For example, if going through a divorce you can negotiate direct with your Spouse, go via mediation, negotiate via solicitors or make an application to Court. There is also a system called Collaborative Law. This doesn’t necessarily save money but is supposed to encourage the parties to negotiate given that the solicitors are unable to represent the parties in Court. Therefore, the parties will incur additional costs if they have to both instruct new Solicitors.
- RESPONSIVE TO YOUR NEEDS
If you need a Solicitor to give a general overview, and advice then, the Solicitor instead is focusing on process and procedure and is ignoring your instructions, It is best to dismiss that Solicitor straightaway and find an alternative.
As above, I have learned this to my cost. I feel, given this experience that I am now better able to understand client’s needs.
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