Month: September 2022

One of the most difficult things you can end up experiencing is the breakdown of a family or a relationship. In these situations, there’s several options you have available when it comes to legal advice. Reaching out to a solicitor can often be a difficult and anxiety inducing step – but often it’s an incredibly important one you must make. However, it’s vital to know what kind of solicitor to choose. If you feel your relationship is beginning to break down and that legal meditation will be necessary, then this is an excellent guide for selecting legal advice.

1. The Most Important Step – Research

The most vital step is research.

You will need to find an experienced family solicitor and a solicitor from a firm with a solid reputation – especially in areas relevant to your needs.

Always consider the kind of services that the firm has experience in providing. It’s important you find a solicitor who is experienced, has the relevant skillsets, and one that you know you will be able to rely on. Look for the experience they have, and the kind of accreditation they possess. Family Law Solicitors can be accredited in several ways, and accreditation is a demonstration of both knowledge and experience – but it’s important to check what exactly their accreditation is and if it relates to family law.

It’s important to ask about what their speciality is – are they a specialist in family law? Many solicitors can cover more than just one area of law – but in these situations you really want someone who has experience in the expansive field of family law and is a dedicated specialist there.

You’ll also want to think about the kind of services a firm can offer you over the course of the process. Specialists in finance and amicable resolution can be vital for assisting you in handling the dispute.

2. Talk to Solicitors

It is very important to meet with the solicitor.

You should always attempt to talk to a solicitor for free to gauge their approach as well as the kind of relationship you’ll be able to develop with them.

Many solicitors and firms offer a free initial consultation. Talking with a solicitor is a vital part of the research step, as it will allow you to see if you have a good working relationship with the solicitor. Because of the sensitive nature of what you must engage with the solicitor over, it is key you are able to develop a good relationship with them. Directly meeting or talking with them will give you a good idea as to whether you will be able to work with them over.

If you get along with your family lawyer Clarkston or like them, then it will be much easier to end up reaching a settlement – because when they discuss a compromise, they know you will be comfortable frankly discussing both the pros and cons.

3. What kind of Approach do they take?

The kind of approach that solicitors take will be vital for helping you to resolve the situation. How do they propose to resolve your case?

The aim should always be to seek an amicable resolution to save both time and money – going to court should always be a last resort taken when all other options have been exhausted or are simply no longer viable. The starting point for a good family solicitor should always be attempting a negotiated solution – and a realistic negotiated solution – to the problem.

However, you must be prepared for the possibility of a case going to a court and in many situations, a robust, experienced solicitor will be necessary to represent you through litigation and provide you with important legal advice relevant to the situation.

During an initial consultation, you’ll be able to get a good idea of the approach that a solicitor will take – but it’s vital for you to ask questions and discuss how they will deal with the case.

4. Costs and Hourly Rates

At the beginning of your consultation, you’ll need to consider how you can fund the legal process. It’s important to ask what for an estimate of the worst and the best-case scenarios – so you can get a proper handle on how much you may need to pay. Not every firm will provide a free estimate before meeting with you and finding out the specific details of our case, however, they should be able to provide details regarding a solicitors hourly rates – which should allow you to develop an idea of how much the process will cost you.

 A good solicitor will,

• Clearly lay out costs
• How to make your next steps

A good solicitor will always make all these details clear and never obfuscate any of the necessary costs.

If you run any form of business at some point you will need to retain the services of a lawyer.

Some choose to seek out a lawyer as and when they are required whilst others prefer to keep one on retainer, paying a certain amount on a monthly or annual basis to ensure their availability at all times.

Some of the main tasks that a lawyer working on behalf of a business will carry out include reviewing leases, contracts, and business agreements; ensuring their clients are abiding by all the latest legal regulations in their sector, and representing the company in litigation cases.

How, then, can you determine whether or not it is worth hiring a lawyer on retainer or not?

One of the main determining factors will be the frequency at which you are expecting to use the services of your lawyer but this is far from the only consideration.

Advantages of having a lawyer on retainer

Probably the biggest benefit of keeping a lawyer on retainer is that you will always be right at the front of the queue if you need legal aid.

You are effectively paying for a lawyer to agree that they will put your needs first over their ongoing work should their expertise be required.

This will allow you to complete all your legal work such as contract creation and review to be completed in a much more time efficient manner, and with much less hassle than would otherwise be possible.

You also won’t have to waste your time searching the market for a lawyer when an issue arises, time that could otherwise be spent working towards securing a positive outcome to the issue in question.

Even if your lawyer on retainer is not themselves a specialist in the area of law that you need assistance with, they will be able to use their wide range of connections within the legal sector to recommend someone suitable.

Although there is inherently an ongoing cost associated with retaining a lawyer, this approach offers a level of financial stability and is much easier to budget for than simply waiting for a crisis situation to arise and seeking out a lawyer each and every time.

It would be great to think that your firm will never be involved in litigation cases but no matter how fairly and honestly you run your company it is impossible to guarantee this won’t happen.

These cases can be highly charged emotional situations and a lawyer can help you ensure you don’t make any silly mistakes, taking a professional and calm approach that is far more likely to wield a positive outcome.

Long-term client-lawyer relationships can be incredibly beneficial as over time your attorney will develop an in-depth knowledge of your business and will know exactly what you are looking to get out of certain situations.

Disadvantages of retaining a lawyer

If there were no disadvantages at all to retaining the services of a Lawyer Glasgow, every business in the country would have one.

The truth is, that whilst the majority will definitely see long-term benefits from taking this approach, it is not for everyone, and there are certain potential disadvantages to consider before doing so.

The main drawback to keeping a lawyer on retainer tends to be disputes over whether or not certain legal services are included in the retainer.

In general, legal advice and inquiries will be included as part of ongoing retainer payments, as will a set fee for additional services offered and an understanding the work will be done as a matter of priority.

However, which services require an additional fee, and how much that additional fee is, can be a matter of conflict so ensure that both sides are clear from the outset about what they are expecting from the relationship and a retainer agreement is signed detailing this.

Another disadvantage to an ‘on retainer’ approach is that you will have to pay a certain monthly or annual fee, regardless of whether the legal services of your lawyer are required during this time.

Whilst a year with no contract disputes or litigation agreements sounds like bliss, this will result in you paying for a service that you have effectively never used.

Should a problem arise, however, you will be very relieved to have someone to call, and the peace of mind and reassurance that having a legal expert just a phone call away at all times should not be underestimated.

Furthermore, if you do use a lawyer even just a few times throughout the year, the money you will save by using someone who doesn’t need to get to grips with the intricacies of your business could prove invaluable.