What to expect when using a lawyer

Do I need a lawyer?

There are a number of organisations who can provide advice, including legal advice. There is some legal work that only qualified and practising solicitors can do. This includes parts of the work in buying and selling property, estates and certifying documents. But even with other matters, the law can be complicated. Solicitors are trained to help people get the best results, and must keep to the standards set by their professional bodies.

How do I choose a solicitor?

It’s important to find someone who’s right for you and your situation, and who you can trust. Many people like to get recommendations from family or friends. You can also use the Law Society of Scotland’s Find a solicitor search tool.

Most firms’ websites tell you more about the work they do, the experience of their solicitors, and may include reviews and details of how they charge.

What to expect if I consult a solicitor?

Try to get all your documents together in advance and think about what you would like to happen, to make your first meeting as helpful as possible.

Solicitors don’t have to accept your instructions. Their professional rules say that they should not do this if they don’t have enough time, don’t do the type of work you need, or this causes conflict with another client.

Whatever you tell a solicitor is confidential. However, they may need to share information with a court. It is important to be completely honest and give all relevant information from the start, because if something comes out later, your solicitor may need to stop working for you.

Solicitors must make sure their clients understand their advice. They cannot always predict exactly what will happen, so it’s not unusual if their advice changes as the work progresses. You can ask for more details, explanations or a translation if there’s anything that isn’t clear at any stage..

If the solicitor accepts you as a client, they must give you a written document that sets out their agreement with you. This can be called a Terms of Business, Terms of Engagement, Letter of Engagement, or Client Care letter. It’s important to read this and keep it safe, because it tells you who will do the work, what they will do, what they won’t do, how they will charge, and what they’ll expect from you. It will also give you details on how to raise a concern or complaint.

How much will it cost?

All solicitors charge for their professional services, and most must also charge VAT. They must tell you about their costs once you become their client, but it’s important for you to find out about the fees even earlier. That includes checking if the first meeting is free. Some firm’s websites include other fee information too, to help you compare their services against other firms. It is often difficult to predict the exact cost from beginning to end of a matter. However, you can ask for a broad estimate, and your solicitor should update you if that changes.

At the first meeting, a solicitor should give you clear information on how they will charge, and they must confirm this in their Terms of Business.

You should check whether you will need to pay any other costs (sometimes called outlays or disbursements) such as property title searches, bank charges, court fees, charges for specialist advocates or reports from other professionals.

At the first meeting, you should be honest about what you can afford, and make sure you understand when you will get bills, and when and how you must pay. You can ask if the firm offers any options to help you to budget, to limit the fees, or pay by instalments.

Solicitors can choose to charge in different ways. Here are some examples:

• An hourly rate, most often broken into minimum “unit charges” of six minutes. They will charge for time working on your case, and for travelling, waiting and running your case in court. They will also charge for all correspondence, phone calls and messages, so you might not want to contact them unless it’s necessary.
• A fixed fee, often used for conveyancing, simple agreements and wills.
• A “no-win-no-fee” arrangement, where you won’t pay any fees if your case is unsuccessful, but the solicitors will get a pre-arranged percentage of your compensation if you win the case.

Can I get help with legal costs?

You might qualify for legal aid assistance in some types of legal work - including family law, litigation and criminal work. You can check this and find out more about the different types of funding. Some solicitors do not take on legal aid cases.

How long will it take to do the work for me?

Your solicitor might be able to give you an estimate of the time that your matter will take. Their terms of business should say when you can expect to hear from them. However, delays can happen for reasons that solicitors cannot control, and they might not be able to progress your matter until they get answers from you or others. Because many cases involve strict time limits, you should try to reply quickly to any questions from your solicitor.

What if I’m not happy with the work done?

If you have any concerns, let your solicitor know so that they can try to resolve them. There is no charge for making a complaint. All firms must have a complaints policy, and you’re entitled to see it. If the firm has not answered your complaint after 28 days, or if you are not happy with their answer, you can complain to us. We can’t generally deal with a complaint if you’ve waited more than three years to bring it to us, so the earlier you can tell us about your complaint, the more likely that we can help resolve the issues.

You can see more detailed information on different work areas in these guides:

• Buying and selling a property
• Wills
• Estates (executries)
• Family Law
• Criminal Law