SOLICITORS Flashcards
How many solicitors are there?
-There are about 147 000 solicitors practicing in England and Wales
- 75% work in Private Practice, remainder are in employed work, such as for local government, CPS, private businesses
What is the body that controls Solicitors?
Law society
How to Qualify for a solicitor?
-Requires a law degree or
- Can complete Graduate Diploma in LAW (GDL), same as barristers
What happens in the training of solicitors ?
-After entry, there is the Legal Practice Course (LPC)
- This is a course which provides training in skills such as client interviewing, negotiation, advocacy, drafting documents, and legal research
- Also an emphasis on business management, such as keeping accounts.
-The LPC can be done as a one year- full time course or a two-year part time course.
-following the academic training ,the student must complete a 2 year pratical training period called “training contract”.
What is the Training Contract?
-Occurs after LPC Whereby the student must complete a two-year practical training period,
-whereby they will deal with real cases under supervision
-Trainee will be paid
- The Training Contract includes a Professional Skills Course (PSC), which is the final stage to becoming a solicitor.
-the PSC is a training program taken after a training contract has been secured. the PSC’s curriculum covers topics such as negotiation and advocacy and communication skills
-At the end of the Training Contract, the trainee will be admitted as a solicitor by the Law Society and their name will be added to the roll.
-That said, even after qualifying, solicitors will attend continuing education courses to make sure their knowledge is up to date.
What is the future qualification and training SQE?
-This is a new route for qualifying as a solicitor
-Trainees will have to pass a two-stage Solicitor’s Qualifying Examination (SQE)
-SQE 1, which is the first stage, includes computerized multiple choice questions that assess key legal knowledge,
such as that of negotiation, drafting legal documents, and other foundational areas of law.
-SQE 2, the second stage, will asses practical legal skills in a mix of written or oral skills. written skills will include the skill of drafting legal documents and conducting legal research. oral skills include advocacy and negotiation
-Then, the candidates will have to obtain 2 years of qualifying practical work experience (QWE), which replaces the training contract.
-In the QWE, real cases will be done and paid for.
- After QWE, the candidate can be admitted to the Law Society
what is the role of solicitors ?
-writing letters on behalf of clients
-drawing up wills
- acting as an executor of a will
- dealing with conveyancing
- divorce
-drafting contracts
- representing clients in court
-offering advice to clients such as in family work or taxes
-duty solicitor in police station.
-the solicitor will support the barrister throughout the court hearings
what are Solicitor work opportunities and options?
-Majority of Solicitors will work in private practice in a solicitor’s firm
-However, there are other career’s available, including: CPS, working for government department, as a legal adviser in businesses.
-Solicitors in Private Practice typically work in partnership with “high-steet” firms to big city firms.
- The number of partners is not limited, and some of the biggest firms will have over a hundred partners
-The type of work a firm will require will depend
what is a high street firm
This is an informal term used for small law firms
What is litigation(the legal process of taking action) In Civil Court?
-Firstly, Litigation is the act of settling a dispute in court of law
- Although generally a barrister is used to represent the client in court through advocacy, a solicitor, if the case is simple enough, can as well
- If the case is too complex, the solicitor may decide to instruct a barrister to advise on the case, draft the court papers and carry out advocacy.
-The Solicitor will try to support the barrister throughout the case, such as obtaining further evidence.
What is litigation in criminal court?
-Solicitor will meet with client in the police station
-Advise will be given to the suspect and solicitor can sit in on interviews
- Solicitor will obtain details of the prosecution case (this is known as disclosure)
- The solicitor will then advise the client on the strengths of the evidence
- If the case is summary or triable-either-way case in the Magistrate’ Court, then the solicitor can carry out advocacy
- If the case is more serious, or an indictable offense, the solicitor is likely to brief a barrister or solicitor advocate to advise and carry out advocacy.
how do solicitors specialise?
-Although some solicitors may handle a variety of work, it is more usual for a solicitor to specialise in one particular field.
- The firm itself may handle only certain types of cases (like only civil actions and not take any criminal cases); or it will only specialise in family matters
-In large city firms, there will be an even greater degree of specialisation, with departments for each area of law.
How is Advocacy granted for Solicitors?
-All solicitors have rights of audience in lower courts (Magistrate and County)
-From 2015, however, a new system of criminal advocacy for higher courts was announced
- Level 1 allows advocacy in Magistrates’ Court and some Crown Court work (but not trials)
-Level 2 allows for some less serious Crown Court work. Solicitors will have to be assed at an assessment centre, followed by assessment by judges in the trials.
-If successful at level 2, they will be able to progress to higher levels by further assessment.
-Solicitors with an advocacy qualification are able to be appointed as Queen’s Counsel as well as be appointed as judges
what are the liabilities for solicitors?
-Unlike a barrister, a solicitor will enter into a contract with client
-As a result, the solicitor can sue if client does not pay
- However, a client can also therefore sue if the solicitor breaches the contract by failing to do agreed work
-A client can also sue the solicitor in negligence if they suffer loss due to poor quality of work by the solicitor
- It used to be the case that an advocate (Either a Solicitor or a Barrister) presenting a case in court should not be sued for negligence. However, in Hall v Simons (2000), the House of Lords decided that an advocate, solicitor or barrister, could be liable for negligent advocacy
explain the case of hall v Simons
