Solicitors
WHAT DO SOLICITORS DO IN A DIVORCE?
Solicitors will conduct your whole divorce, or part of your divorce, for you.
- They can complete and submit court application forms.
- Write statements.
- Prepare bundles.
- Give legal advice.
- Guide you through the divorce.
- Communicate with your ex-partner and/or their solicitor.
- Attend court for you.
- Represent you in court and/or help you find a barrister to represent you.
WHAT ARE THEIR QUALIFICATIONS?
- FIRST STEP – Lawyers must have passed a 3-4 years bachelors degree at 2.1 level.
- SECOND STEP – If they have graduated with a bachelors law degree (LLB qualification), they must attend law school and obtain a legal practice course qualification (LPC qualification). This is a 1 year full-time post graduate course or a 2 year part-time post graduate course. If they have not graduated with a bachelors law degree but instead another subject, they must do a 1 year conversion course called a graduate diploma in law first (GDL qualification). After this, they can attend law school and get a LPC qualification.
- THIRD STEP – They must get some experience. A two year training contract is offered by most law firms. This is called a professional skills course. Here, they will study 4 areas of law.
- FOURTH STEP – They must then get a licence to practice, join a governing body, and be insured.
WHERE AND HOW DO YOU FIND A SOLICITOR?
- Someone can recommend a solicitor to you.
- The Citizens Advice Bureau can help.
- You can find a solicitor on the Resolution website.
- The Law Society can help you find a solicitor.
IF YOU INTEND TO HIRE ONE – WHAT DO YOU ASK AND LOOK OUT FOR AT YOUR FIRST MEETING?
The first thing you must remember is that divorce law and family law are two different areas of law. They are not the same speciality. You must find a solicitor who deals with the complexities of divorce law and understands how to handle a divorce case. When you attend the first meeting, please remember you are interviewing them not the other way round. If you hire them they are earning from you. Some questions you will need clarity on are –
- How long has the solicitor been practicing? How long has the firm been around? When did the solicitor join the firm?
- Are they members of their governing body?
- Have they had any previous complaints and if so how many?
- Have they been disciplined by a regulatory body?
- What is the solicitor’s/firm’s experience in divorce law and how many cases have they conducted? Who is their typical client? Are any of their previous cases similar to yours?
- What other specialist training does the solicitor have that could help you?
- You can ask what made the solicitor specialise in divorce law?
- What soft skills does the solicitor have to deal with an acrimonious divorce?
- Do their previous divorce cases get resolved early or do many end up at a final hearing? If so why did these divorce cases end up at a final hearing and what did the solicitor/firm do to try and prevent this?
- Do they try and resolve marital/divorcing issues quickly and efficiently thus saving costs?
- How do they negotiate with the other side?
- How do they charge? What is their fee structure and billing process? Do they have fixed fees for parts of the divorce work, such as filling in certain forms, or do they charge by the hour? How much do they charge by the hour? Please Remember there is 20% VAT added to their fees by the government.
- Do they offer a contingent fee where they take a percentage of the settlement? If this is the case will they try and do as little work for you as possible because they will get paid anyway?
- How will you be expected to pay the fees? By bank transfer, cheque, or cash?
- What position does the solicitor have in the firm? Are they a partner or an associate, and what are their fees?
- Will they charge you their fee but instruct a paralegal to do the work?
- When a paralegal does your work, will you get billed the fee of the paralegal?
- Will the firm inform you of the cost of every piece of work before it is done to stop costs from mounting up?
- How often will they let you know what is happening in your case?
- Will they charge for all emails and telephone calls to you?
- How will they contact you in the first instance?
- What is the timescale they give for their response times to your emails or calls?
- How long will they keep your files for?
- Will they share your details and files with anyone?
IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER WHEN DEALING WITH A SOLICITOR
- Do not forget, the solicitor and their firm are working for you. You are the client.
- You must be in control of the relationship between you and your solicitor at all times. Do not let them persuade you to do anything you feel uncomfortable doing.
- Do not forget they are earning – shall use the word ‘profiting’ – from your divorce case.
- Please be clear of the fees of all individuals from the law firm working on your case. The fee for a paralegal is way below the fee charged by an associate lawyer or partner. Whoever does the work, it is their fee that should be charged on your bill. What we are trying to say is that if a paralegal writes your letters then you should be charged for the paralegals time not the associate lawyers time.
- Please instruct your solicitor to ask you – get your permission – before they DO or CHARGE for any work. They must explain in detail what work they are doing, why they are doing it and is it necessary. Ask how much each letter will cost to write and send. If you can do some of the work yourself for free then insist you do because some of the court forms are quite easy to fill in.
- Do not use your solicitor as a PA service to contact your ex-partner about every little thing. That is what WhatsApp is for. WhatsApp is free, solicitors are not.
- Please ask your solicitor about the IMPACT on your divorce and on your ex-partner of every application you submit to the court, every letter you send and of every action you and your solicitor engage in. If you are angry with your ex-partner please do not contact your solicitor until you have calmed down in case you instruct them to do something you will later regret.
- Please ask your solicitor to inform you of any disbursement costs as you will be paying for them. Disbursement costs are expenses such as court form fees, courier costs, valuation fees, and expert report fees to name a few. These are costs incurred during your divorce case outside of legal fees but they do mount up so keep an eye on these costs.
- Ask them to keep you up to date with your bill, preferably on a weekly basis so you do not get any surprises and can control the final amount.
- Please be aware that your solicitor does not try and cause or more than likely continue the friction between you and your ex-partner. The longer the friction continues the more they earn.
- Always remember that 20% VAT is added on top of your bill as hiring solicitors to sort out your divorce is a vatable service. This often shocks many people when they get invoices for payment.
WHAT IS THE GOLDEN RULE WHEN YOU HAVE A SOLICITOR HANDLING YOUR DIVORCE?
Steer clear of your solicitor for 48 hours if you are angry and annoyed with your ex-partner or feeling revengeful at any stage of your divorce. Do not give any instructions to your solicitor during these 48 hours that you may regret later.
Unless you are calm DO NOT contact your solicitor.
WHAT CAN A DIVORCE SOLICITOR NOT DO?
A divorce solicitor cannot do the following:
- Have a relationship with a client
- Work for two or more clients where there is a conflict of interest
- They cannot break a clients confidence and share information about you without your permission
- They cannot keep money that belongs to you without your permission.
- They cannot overcharge for work completed.
- They cannot do work for a client if the work is illegal or against the solicitors professional standards even if undue pressure has been placed upon the solicitor
- They cannot be influenced by greed or personal gain.
WHO IS THEIR GOVERNING BODY?
The governing body of all solicitors is the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
WHAT CODE OF CONDUCT GOVERNS A SOLICITOR?
The SRA has a code of practice and guidelines which govern all solicitors.
THE PROCEDURE FOR COMPLAINING ABOUT A SOLICITOR
WHAT CAN YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT?
You can complain about how your solicitor handled your case, whether they lied or deceived you, poor service, or the fees they have charged you.
WHO DO YOU COMPLAIN TO?
In the first instance, you must complain to the solicitor’s firm directly. They will have an inhouse complaints procedure. Please look on their website or call them to find out who to write to. They will take about 8 weeks to reply. You can find a template for a complaint letter from the Legal Ombudsman Website.
LINK TO LEGAL OMBUDSMAN WEBSITE – SAMPLE TEMPLATE
If you are not happy with the response from your solicitor and their firm, you can report them to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
LINK TO SOLICITORS REGULATION AUTHORITY
If your issue has not been resolved once you have written to the solicitors regulation authority, then you can contact the Legal Ombudsman.
Please note that at each stage of your complaint the letter you receive back from an organisation should inform you of the next step and where to complain to next if you are not happy with the response.
IS THERE A TIME LIMIT TO COMPLAIN?
You can complain to the legal ombudsman if what you are complaining about happened within the last six years, and within three years from when you found out about it.