Legal Personnel (Barristers, Solicitors and Legal Executives)

Question 1

Where do solicitors work?

Answer 1

majority will work in Private High Street firms
some may work for the Crown Prosecution Service or Government departments
main role is to advise clients with issues
they do large amount of paperwork

Question 2

What do solicitors do in court?

Answer 2

Being able do advocate

Access to Justice Act 1999 now gives solicitors full rights of audience this means they can advocate in higher courts

Question 3

Where do barristers work?

Answer 3

barristers are self-employed
usually work in chambers (15-20 barristers)
instructed by solicitors
may be employed for the CPS, government or work for the Alternative Business Structure

Question 4

Where do barristers work?

Answer 4

barristers are self-employed
usually work in chambers (15-20 barristers)
instructed by solicitors
may be employed for the CPS, government or work for the Alternative Business Structure

Question 5

What do barristers do?

Answer 5

main role is advocacy
have full rights of audience in all courts in England and Wales
can undertake a wide range of different roles including writing opinions and giving advice
many of them are specialised in particular fields of law

Question 6

What is the Queen’s Counsel?

Answer 6

After at least 10 years of experience as a barrister or solicitor it is possible to apply to become a QC. QCs take more complicated and high-profile cases

Question 7

Who are solicitors regulated by?

Answer 7

Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)

Question 8

What do legal executives do?

Answer 8

Specialise in a particular area of law, within that area of law their day-to-day work is similar to that of a solicitor but they tend to deal with more straight forward matters
They also have some rights of audience

Question 9

What is the solicitor regulation procedure?

Answer 9

The client who needs to contact the firm first and the firm has 28 days to respond. If the matter is not resolved then a complain can be made to the SRA

Question 10

What do the SRA do?

Answer 10

Investigate complains about the professional misconduct of solicitors
In very serious cases, the Tribunal can suspend or strike off a solicitor from the roll
If the complainant is unhappy with the SRA, they will take their case to the Legal Ombudsman

Question 11

What can a solicitor be sued for?

Answer 11

Breach of contract

Negligence

Question 12

What is breach of contract?

Answer 12

If the solicitor fails to do the work agreed the client can sue his solicitor for breach of contract

Question 13

What is negligence?

Answer 13

If the solicitor fails to complete his or her work properly, a client can sue their solicitor for negligence

Question 14

What happens in Griffiths v Dawson 1993?

Answer 14

Solicitor failed to make the correct application in divorce proceedings and the claimant lost financially so the solicitor was ordered to pay 21000 compensation

Question 15

What happens in White v Jones?

Answer 15

A father wanted to make a will leaving £9000 to each of his daughters. The solicitor did nothing about it as a result the girls did not inherit the money after he died. They successfully sued the solicitor for the money lost

Question 16

Who are barristers regulated by?

Answer 16

Bar Standards Board (BSB)

Question 17

What is the barrister regulation procedure?

Answer 17

The chambers complaints procedure is used first but if the complainant does not hear back in 28 days then the complaint can be made to the BSB

Question 18

What do the BSB do?

Answer 18

They regulate the profession of barristers and set a Code of Conduct which barristers should comply with
It can discipline any barrister in breach of the Code and if the breach is serious it will be referred to a Disciplinary Tribunal
If the complainant is unhappy with the BSB then the case will go to the Legal Ombudsman

Question 19

What can barrister be sued for?

Answer 19

Negligence

Question 20

What happens in Saif Ali v Sydney Mitchell and Co 1980?

Answer 20

Barrister had given the wrong advice over who to sue, therefore it was too late for the claimant to start proceedings against the right person. It was held it is possible to sue a barrister for written advice and opinions

Question 21

What happens in Hall v Simons 2000?

Answer 21

HofL decided that advocates can be liable for negligence. It was held, if Doctors can be sued, why should barristers be any different?

Question 22

Who are legal executives regulated by?

Answer 22

CILEx Regulation Board

Question 23

What does the CILEx regulation board do?

Answer 23

investigate complains about legal executives
decide if there has been a misconduct
they will reject the complaint if there has been no misconduct
they will warn a member if there has been a misconduct
serious matters will be referred to the Discretionary Tribunal

Question 24

What is the Legal Ombudsman?

Answer 24

The office was set up to deal with complains against the legal professional and handles complains by the SRA, BSB and the CILEx Regulatory Body

Question 25

What does the Legal Ombudsman do?

Answer 25

Can order for he legal professional to:
apologise to the client
put things right if more work can correct the wrong
refund/reduce legal fees
pay compensation up to £30000