Once your solicitor has agreed to act for you he or she must write to you to, amongst other things:-
* confirm the terms of your instructions
* set out which member(s) of the firm will be handling your file
* set out the terms upon which you will be charged
* give the name of the partner of the firm to whom you may write if you are unhappy about the service
In relation to costs, in some cases, such as buying or selling a house, where the solicitor has a good idea of what has to be done, then he or she may be able to offer you a firm quotation, on the assumption that the transaction is not more difficult or time consuming than might be reasonably expected. However, in other cases, where it is impossible to estimate how long a matter will take, this is much more difficult and your solicitor will probably charge for his or her time.
In some cases you may be eligible for legal aid. At one stage most solicitors did this work but now, because of the Lord Chancellor’s reforms, only a selected few do. Legal Aid is only a loan and because of this you may have to pay some or all of the money back. Even so, not everyone is financially eligible for legal aid.
Your solicitor may agree to take your case using a conditional fee agreement (“no win – no fee”). Under an agreement like this, if you lose your case you will not have to pay your solicitors costs although you may have to pay expenses such as medical reports and court fees. You will have to pay the other side’s costs. In most cases, you can take out insurance to cover this. If you win your case the other side will be usually ordered to pay your costs. You will pay your solicitor a success fee which is a percentage of the money that you win. The amount of the success fee will be agreed between you at the start of the case but will be capped at a maximum percentage of the money.
You can discuss with your solicitor the appropriate basis upon which they will charge you at the beginning of your matter.
The vast majority of the transactions carried out by solicitors are concluded for satisfied clients. Statistics show that only 0.02% of legal transactions leave the client wrongly or rightly unhappy with the service which has been provided. If you are unhappy then you should take this up with your solicitor. It is a requirement of the Solicitors Practice Rules for every firm of solicitors to have and to follow a documented procedure for handling client complaints.
Members of the public who require a more comprehensive information pack about client care should log on to www.oss.lawsociety.org.uk the website of the Law Society of England & Wales regulatory arm where much useful information and guidance is given.
