Solicitors Flashcards
What does the Legal Services Act 2007 do?
increased controls over the legal profession and their functions.
How many solicitors are there in England and Wales?
180,000
Where do they work?
working in private practice as well as local government local authorities, commercial or private businesses and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
Who governs the solicitors?
Law Society
If they are employed in private practice what do they get?
A salary.
In private practice what can they work as?
a sole practitioner or in a partnership.
How many firms are there?
10,000 from small ‘high-street’ to large city firms.
Explain how many solicitors will be in each firm. Is it limited and what about in big firms?
The number of partners in each of these firms is not limited and some of the bigger firms will have over 100 partners as well as employing assistant solicitors.
What will the work a solicitor do depend on?
will largely depend on the type of firm they work in and the different areas of law covered within that firm.
What will most firms advise clients on?
Most firms will advise clients on matters relating to Family Law and Property Law (buying and selling houses or conveyancing).
What is specializing?
Solicitors can also specialise in specific areas of law which will depend on whether they work in civil or criminal practice.
Give an overview of a solicitors work.
advising clients on a full range of topics
negotiating with other solicitor’s firms on behalf of their client
completing paperwork.
What does the paperwork include, give 3 examples?
Writing letters on behalf of clients;
Drafting contracts, leases and other legal documents;
Drafting negotiations;
Drawing up wills; and
Dealing with conveyancing issues (the legal issues of buying and selling houses, etc.)
What is advocacy?
Solicitors can also act for some of their clients in court.
This is known as advocacy and involves the solicitor standing up in court, putting the client’s case forward by presenting evidence and questioning witnesses.
Most solicitors are general practitioners, what does this mean?
They will deal with more than one area of law.
What will they do relating to barristers?
brief barristers who are going to court, or they can instruct a barrister to give an opinion on case.
How does a solicitor gain rights of advocacy? What can those with the higher rights apply to become?
Apply for rights of advocacy in the higher courts.
Those with higher rights of advocacy can apply to become a QC
What must all solicitors be members of?
The Law Society
What does the Law Society do?
supports the interests of solicitors and speaks to government, Parliament and the public on a range of legal issues and tries to influence Parliament to make sure the laws passed protect its members and the public.
How does the Law Society do its job?
raising the profile of the profession through campaigns, networking and promoting the UK legal sector locally and globally.
What was set up to deal with complaints about professional misconduct of solicitors?
An independent Solicitors Regulatory Authority was created to deal with complaints.
What does the Authority do if a complaint arises?
investigate the matter and, if there is evidence of serious misconduct, it can put the case before the Solicitor’s Disciplinary Tribunal.
If the Tribunal upholds the complaint what can it do?
it can fine or reprimand the solicitor, or in more serious cases, it can suspend a solicitor from the Roll.
This will mean that the solicitor cannot practise for a specified amount of time.
What can happen in serious cases with the Tribunal?
the Tribunal can strike off a solicitor from the Roll for good, meaning they will be prevented from practising as a solicitor again.
If the Tribunal cannot settle the complaint where can it be sent to?
it can be sent to the Legal Ombudsman
How does a solicitor interact with their client?
A solicitor deals directly with clients and enters into a contract with them.
If a client cannot pay what happens?
This means that if the client does not pay, the solicitor has the right to sue for his or her fees.
If the solicitor does not carry out his/her job properly what can the client do? Give a case example.
It also means that the client can sue his solicitor for breach of contract if the solicitor fails to do the work required.
Griffiths v Dawson (1993)
What can the other solicitor do?
A solicitor can also sue the solicitor for work that has been done negligently.
Other people affected by the solicitor’s negligence may also have a right to sue in certain circumstances. Give a case example.
White v Jones [1995]
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