solicitor

If you do have a court hearing and your solicitor is representing at that hearing you should ask about their experience at court. You need a solicitor with mileage. If your solicitor instructs a Barrister, ask what experience the Barrister has in cases similar to yours. Instructing a Barrister does not necessarily mean he/she will achieve a better outcome in court than your solicitor. No doubt a Barrister will know how to present your case but the Barrister would not have lived, breathed and heard your grievance as well as your own solicitor. A lot of putting a case forward is knowing your clients instructions and how to apply it (in court). You should therefore ask your solicitor for a copy of instructions to the Barrister so you know what the Barrister knows about your case. So often, a Barrister attends court and does not know enough about your case and takes instructions from you at court (serious disadvantage – especially if you only have 10 minutes with the Barrister before the hearing). You must therefore ensure that if your solicitor has instructed a Barrister that you have paid well in advance of the hearing for that Barrister to be instructed well in advance – that way there is no excuse. You should also ask for a copy of the instructions to that Barrister.

For an advocate that attends court it would be ideal that he/she knows the answers to the following questions before they even step foot on court soil.

  1. What is it my client wants to achieve?
  2. What is it the opponent wants to achieve?
  3. What is the evidence oral/documentary/inference/circumstantial etc?
  4. What is the law for and against your client?
  5. What are the procedural points (if any)?
  6. How can I achieve the best outcome for my client?
  7. What discussions should take place with my opponent?
  8. What further directions from the court may I require (if any) and can this be agreed?
  9. What order is it I am asking for the court to make?

If you have any questions about the above please feel free to email me on xen@35.242.129.174.

XENFORMATION ON COURT REPRESENTATION

October 28th, 2012

If you do have a court hearing and your solicitor is representing at that hearing you should ask about their experience at court. You need a solicitor with mileage. If your solicitor instructs a Barrister, ask what experience the Barrister has in cases similar to yours. Instructing a Barrister does not necessarily mean he/she will achieve a better outcome in […]

PERSONAL INJURY AND IMMIGRATION

May 30th, 2012

A new department opened at Proctor Moore Solicitors specialising in Personal Injury and Immigration. Here is some information about services we offer and we have provided fixed fees regarding our immigration. PERSONAL INJURY Employer’s liability: These are work related accidents with various types of injuries sustained in the course of your employment. Road Traffic Accidents: We can represent you in […]

JARGON FREE LEGAL ADVICE

March 25th, 2011

Whatever legal service you need, you have the right to be treated professionally and with care by your solicitor. There is one interesting responsibility straight from the SRA (body that regulates solicitors): make sure your solicitor explains things clearly using words you can understand and using as little jargon as possible. This is an amazing advance from what the profession […]

IMPORTANT NOTE TO CLIENTS

March 5th, 2011

Litigation is all about fact finding. You need to feed your solicitor with as much relevant information as possible. It is important that you are aware your solicitor is taking a good note of your instructions throughout your case and ensure instructions are confirmed in writing. Time and time again it happens at trial that certain information comes to light […]

SOLICITOR’S LIEN OVER FILES – RULE 2 – CLIENT RELATIONS

February 14th, 2011

It is very important that throughout the time you instruct your solicitor you retain copies of all documents. You should also keep originals. Quite often clients dispute their solicitor’s bill. This can be for various reasons. This can happen during a crucial time in litigation when things need to get done. Your solicitor will not do any work unless he […]

REASONABLE NOTICE – RULE 2

February 7th, 2011

I was contacted about an unfortunate situation where a person’s solicitor refused to act. The person was very upset because it happened just days before a 4 day trial was due to take place. Rule 2 of the Code of Conduct 2007 implemented by the Solicitors Regulation Authority says as follows: “A solicitor must not cease acting for a client […]