Legal Information Team

October 28, 2009

Questions To Ask When Initially Instructing A Solicitor

Filed under: General — Tags: , , — admin @ 4:23 pm

META: With promises of the earth, it can be hard to determine which solicitor is right for you. This is where this article aims to be on some guidance to you.

Finding a solicitor to take on your case can be a very daunting task. Instructing, not to mention, the right firm for your job. It is at times like this that you should approach the relevant firms, within your area, with a clear set of basic criteria for what you will be looking for during your relationship with them.

Obviously and rather annoyingly, when you first set out to find a solicitor you need to find the right one for your case you are likely to find that all firms will be tending to promise you the same levels of service. In fact, you may find it very difficult to place a pin between most firms. Advertising their services as if they are simply the best is something that all firms of solicitors are very good at doing. The initial communiction with most solicitors will be aimed at securing your business with them, and they are likely to make you feel like they are only dealing with your case. At these times however, you need to be cautious. Ascertain as many details as you possibly can and keep an open mind throughout. Bearing all the points in mind you should be able to decide whether or not they are going to give you a good level of service.

Ignore the parts where they promise you the earth, most firms of solicitors will not adhere to such promises! Establish at the beginning whether your case is going to be delegated to someone else; as it’s very often the case where a more junior member of the firm, or someone with no formal qualifications at all deals with it. It will be up to you to ascertain how truthful you feel the response is here, if you feel that they are squirming rather uncomfortably, you have your answer.

Understanding how your case is going to be dealt with is very important, so make sure you ask them to set this out clearly, stating the merits of your case in their opinion. In other words, get them to stipulate how likely it will be for you to go on and win your case. Before they take your case on, solicitors will access your chances of success, especially if you are applying for legal aid.

Find out, by asking your solicitor, what actions to progress your case are necessary; get this in writing also if you can. Listen very intentively to this response as your decision on whether or not you instruct this firm is crucial here.

Find out how the solicitor will aim to keep you updated on the progress of the case and make them stick to this. Stress to them in fact, that this is a crucial point for you as to whether you will consider using them. This is the area where most people lose faith with their firm of solicitors, as they can be the worst, most ignorant, communicators in the World.

Trying logging on to the impartial reviews about solicitors online. That way you will see if the solicitors you have chosen are right for you. Solicitor.info is one such uk solicitor directory, where you will find accurate and up-to-date information on what previous clients have thought about different solicitors. You will be in a much stronger position of choosing the right solicitor for your case, armed with this information. 

 

August 21, 2009

UK Lawyer directorys

Filed under: General — Tags: , , , — admin @ 9:34 am

When you need to find a solicitor, here in the United Kingdom, there are too many solicitors lists to mention. One thing that they all seem to have in common, however, is that they all mainly seem to be quite basic sites where you can search for a firm in a particular location.

Often you will be able to stipulate the specific area of law you require a solicitor’s help with, but that will pretty much be the extent of things. In fact, with all of this in mind, you may as well just pick up a copy of a local telephone directory. This will tend to contain the same amount of information as you will find through these sites.

Organizations of solicitors will usually pay the UK solicitor directory to be included, in them. Thus this is intended to advertise the soliciotor. One thing that has to be remembered is that solicitors are in compertition for your custom.

This is all very well, but obviously in terms of information relating to the way in which a firm of solicitors will be able to deal with your case, this is of no use to you whatsoever. Firms will be able to put themselves in any light, through these directories, and there will be nothing available to the potential client that will inform them of the firm’s experience to deal with their case. This is no good!

Finding a solicitor through such directories can be a very frustrating process. how do you tell the difference between the good and bad ones?

Unfortunately, you will regularly find that many firms of solicitors do not believe in portraying a level of customer service. Let alone good customer service. They can often be very ‘no nonsense’ and if you ever dare to question them over an aspect of their service, stand well back and wait for the fireworks. As a general rule, they do not like being questioned and it is my own personal experience that they can often get very nasty if you complain over even a very simple issue.

This is just not on in todays world. We need a point of reference whereby we can identify the good and bad solicitors and actively choose to steer clear of those all too common outdated firms that will not provide us with the elementary levels of client care that we deserve.

This is why this new type of solicitors directory was born. The fundermental drawbacks of directorys where looked at and they have been taken to the next level. When you need a solicitor they may charge very high rates to work for you. Thus, they must be ready to prove to clients they are suitable to do the work.

Rate a solicitor type sites are entirely aimed at helping you to ascertain this very information. If a client has been treated badly, you are encouraged to make a note of this through such websites. Such firms of solicitors will not deserve future work if they are not able to adapt their attitude in line with the 21st century.

Also It is important to kbow the soliciotrs that have done great work. Sites such as solicitor.info will do just that and the aim is to see great soliciotors get more work.

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