At the solicitors or advice centre
How do I prepare for seeing a solicitor or adviser?
Make a list. It can be a good idea to get a friend to help. The list should include:
- the main points you want to make
- what you want to know
- the questions you want to ask
Take any relevant letters or documents with you. This will help your solicitor or adviser understand what has been going on.
What can I expect?
They will ask you many questions. Try to answer them as clearly and accurately as you can. The solicitor or adviser should check with you to make sure they’ve understood what you’ve said. Don’t hold back information because you are embarrassed or feel it may not be important. Explain why you feel awkward. Don’t be afraid to ask them to explain anything you don’t understand.
You may want to ask questions such as:
- What happens next?
- How likely is my case to succeed?
- What are the risks involved?
- How long will it take?
- How much will my case cost?
- Am I eligible for legal aid?
- Can I do anything to help my case?
After you have seen the adviser or solicitor for the first time you may want to ask yourself:
- Do I feel confident about using this person?
- Did I understand everything that they told me?
- Do I think they fully understood my problem?
- If the service isn’t free, am I clear how much this could cost me if I go ahead?
How can I be sure that the advice I’m getting is good?
The short answer is that it is difficult to be absolutely certain. However supervision systems are now widespread in advice centres and firms of solicitors. More advice centres and solicitors check the quality of their advice and the Legal Services Commission, which looks after legal aid in England and Wales, sometimes uses solicitors who are good at what they do to review the work done by solicitors and advisers doing legal aid work.
Lexcel is the Law Society's practice management quality mark. Firms of solicitors with Lexcel have been independently assessed to ensure that certain standards of practice have been reached. Keeping the award involves annual monitoring visits. Firms with this award usually have the Lexcel logo on their notepaper.
The Community Legal Service Quality Mark, awarded at Specialist, General and Information levels, sets standards for organisations to follow so they can show that they are well run. Any firm of solicitors or advice centre that has been awarded a Quality Mark will have the Community Legal Service logo on their notepaper and may have a poster in their window, waiting room or on their front door with the same logo on it.
