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Divorce and the role of solicitors
What are Solicitors?Solicitors are highly trained lawyers who can deal directly with the general
public from their offices and advise on a wide range of subjects. Certain matters are reserved to Solicitors and no one else can deal with these types of legal work without permission of the court. They charge for listening to you, advising you and going to Court for
you as well as preparing any documents that you might need, usually on an hourly rate. The Divorce Solicitors OfficeA partner who is a Solicitor that owns a share in the firm will head the office. They will have other partners in charge of the various departments that make up your average high street law firm. Below them are the Solicitors and other fee earning staff who handle the majority of the caseloads for the firm. Then there is the support staff such as secretaries, accounts and reception staff. Making an appointment with a divorce solicitor
There are a number of ways to find a Solicitor. (these seem to be the most popular)
Divorce-Online recommends that you ensure they can provide the level of service we set out below: They are accredited by The Law Society or Resolution
We believe these are important to you as you need to know the firm has passed Quality Assurance Tests, will spread your payments and will have someone else who can jump in to help if your fee-earner is unavailable. First interview
At the first interview you should have available as much information as possible about your circumstances. We would suggest you prepare a short summary of events with your name, address, date of birth, telephone numbers and National Insurance Number. Take your P60 or some recent wage slips as this will help determine if you are eligible for Legal Aid . Costs of a divorce
You should straight away ask about cost. Your Solicitor is obliged at the outset to estimate the likely cost of the work to various stages or to the end of the case. Find out what their hourly rate is, as Solicitors tend to charge by the hour using Unit time. This is important even if you are eligible for Legal Aid. Unit timeMost Solicitors charge 6-minute units. This means if you telephone your Solicitor for 2 minutes you will be charged for 6 minutes work. Letters and telephone calls are charged at 10% of the total hourly rate (usually). Some firms will charge a fixed fee for aspects of a case. Who's who in a Solicitors office
Ask what their status is within the firm, as this will help you decide whether to continue with the person you are seeing or otherwise. It will help you if you ask about this before you book your appointment. A PartnerA partner is a Solicitor who owns or parts owns the firm. They will often have at least 5 years experience. They also tend to charge more than other fee earners, however as with all things owning a share in something does not make them any better or worse than other fee earners. An AssociateAn Associate tends to be a Solicitor with at least 5 years experience who is not a partner but has been given extra responsibility and usually pay to reflect their value to the firm and experience. An Assistant SolicitorAny qualified Solicitor who is neither a Partner nor an Associate. Ask what their PQE is (Post Qualification Experience). This will determine how experienced they are. Trainee SolicitorAs the title suggests, a Solicitor in waiting. All Solicitors have to complete a 2-year Training contract (save for certain exemptions) in a firm and they often do a stint in each department. A Legal ExecutiveLegal Executives are qualified lawyers who are specialised in their particular field. In order to call themselves Legal Executives they must have completed a course of study for at least 5 years. They are usually very experienced in their field. Paralegal / Executive / ClerkGenerally staff who are specialised in a particular field but do not have all or any Legal Qualifications. Accredited Family LawyersThere are two schemes in England & Wales that are recognised by the Law Society and enable those who hold the qualification to supervise other lawyers for the Community Legal Service. The Law Society Family Law PanelThe Law Society’s Family Law Panel, was launched to the public on 28 January 1999. The Panel is an accreditation scheme for solicitors and legal executives who have shown they are experienced in handling complex relationship breakdowns. The Panel will help couples who are considering divorce or separation to get high quality legal help as quickly and as easily as possible. website: www.lawsociety.org.uk Resolution - Family Lawyers
This is an association of solicitors started in 1982 whose members believe that aggressive solicitors and reliance on the court process can add to distress and anger on the breakdown of a family relationship. Resolution members abide by a Code of Practice designed to promote a conciliatory atmosphere in which matters are dealt with in a sensitive, constructive and cost-effective way. The Association has an office staffed by full-time personnel. It provides support, guidance and training for its members and is actively involved in law reform, both initiating improvements and responding to proposals for change. The Accredited Specialist scheme builds on the Resolution Code of Practice introduced in 1982 to prevent lawyers and legal procedures adding to the distress and anger that arise when family relationships break down. The Resolution approach is now widely accepted, and the new Scheme brings clear additional benefits for the public and professionals concerned with child and family law. Resolution believe:
Complaints about SolicitorsAll Solicitors are subject to rules and regulations about their conduct and have to provide you with a "Client Care" letter at the outset of proceedings setting out their terms of business and what to do in the event that you wish to complain. This will usually mean that your complaint will be dealt with by a Partner who is not in the department of the fee earner handling your case and if they believe the complaint is justified they will attempt to come to an agreement with you about how to resolve it. If you are not satisfied with their internal procedure you can complain to the Solicitors Regulation Authority who fund an Independent Complaints body. Solicitors Regulation Authority
What they doThe SRA was set up in 2007 as the Law Society split it's functions to investigate complaints about solicitors' service and conduct and to regulate solicitors' practices. The powers of the Office come from the Government which has guaranteed them independence in their decision making. Members of the public (non-solicitors) are involved in decision making and setting policy in the Office to ensure that the interests of the public are always taken into account. How to contact them: SRA website:Solicitors Regulation Authority Their help line number is 0845 608 6565. Lines are open from 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. Community Legal ServiceOn April 1st 2000 the Government launched the "Community Legal Service" to create a one stop shop for quality assured legal advice for consumers who need to access the Justice system and will need financial assistance. The service has lauched the JustAsk web site which is extremely helpful and has loads of information on the new service, legal aid, etc. website: www.justask.org.uk
Information on this page is current and last updated: 12/03/2008 |
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Information on this page is current and last updated: 12/03/2008
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