1. What is a Solicitor?
A Solicitor is a person who deals with legal matters on behalf of clients. Solicitors in England and Wales who wish to practice must pay an annual fee to obtain a Practicing Certificate. There are two graduate routes for prospective Solicitors, either with a qualifying law degree and passing the Legal Practice Course, or holding a non-law "qualifying degree" plus a conversion course, prior to enrolling on the Legal Practice Course. Once the Legal Practice Course has been completed, the prospective Solicitor must undertake a two year training contract. Solicitors must also complete 16 hours CPD training per year, to evidence further development and knowledge retention.
2. Why do I need a Solicitor?
Not all legal matters require legal representation. However, many people choose to instruct Solicitors for various factors including time constraints and case complexity. People also instruct Solicitors for peace of mind, knowing that Solicitors are trained in their specific field, are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), adhere to a strict code of conduct, and carry Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII).
3. What Services do we offer?
We are a specialist Private client firm and have always been so. We have purposefully limited the services we offer so that you can rest assured that the firm, as well as our staff, are experts in their respective fields.
4. Why are we different?
Many claim to provide great service but we back it up with tangible credentials
- The Law Society regularly recognise our efforts through awards and accreditations
- Through our two Law Society quality marks, we are independently assessed twice a year, to check the quality and efficiency of our service and systems
- Most of our work is from word of mouth referrals from happy clients
- We monitor client feedback. In 2012, 100% of clients said they would use again and 99% said they would recommend us, an increase of +1% from 2011.
5. Do I need to visit the office?
We specifically moved to our current office to make visiting the office easier for clients. We are conveniently located on the edge of several towns and villages, and our office offers free parking with a ground floor, easy-access meeting room.
However, we act for clients all over the UK, many of whom have never visited our office or met our staff face to face. We are happy to fit into your lifestyle and location. You will receive the same level of care attention whether or not you visit our office.
6. Who will look after my file?
Your file will only be handled by your dedicated, and fully qualified, member of staff. Our fee earning staff all hold current practicing certificates and are specialists in their fields.
7. How can I contact my fee earner?
You can contact your fee earner however you wish, and we will contact you by whatever method you would prefer us to. We know clear and frequent communication is the key to good service, and want to do so in a format that suits and helps you. So whether it's face to face, over the phone, email, letters via Royal Mail, or even Twitter, we hope to make our service convenient for you.