Five Key Considerations When Choosing a Solicitor

Nobody wants to have to use a solicitor. It’s always a challenging and stressful time, regardless of whether you're the claimant or defendant. One way that you can help yourself to minimise the stress is by choosing the right solicitor. Below, you will find five suggestions to help you choose the best solicitor for your particular situation.

1.Choose a solicitor that specialises in that particular area of law. The first thing that you need to realise is that there are different types of solicitor, and they specialise in different areas of the law. In order to find a suitable solicitor, visit The Law Society website and browse “types of solicitor”. You will be able to find out which solicitor suits your needs. For instance if you’ve been injured, you will need a personal injury specialist; if you've been unfairly dismissed, you'll need an employment solicitor.

2.If you qualify for legal aid, look for a solicitor that is prepared to work for it. If you earn below a certain amount, you might be entitled to legal aid. However, you need to choose a solicitor that offers it, because they don’t all allow you to use legal aid.

3.If the issue you have is covered by “no win no fee” law (e.g. unfair dismissal, personal injury) look for one that offers this arrangement. Certain types of claims are covered by Conditional Arrangement Fees (known colloquially as “no win no fee”). You should take advantage of this if it’s available, as it will usually vastly reduce your legal costs.

4.Consider how near their offices are. It’s always better to choose a local solicitor. So, for example, if you live in Blackburn and you're looking for a personal injury specialist, choose a personal injury Blackburn specialist. There are so many advantages to choosing someone local, including being able to get hold of them when you need them, asking other people about their reputation, and reducing your fees if they need to come out and visit you.

5.Check with The Law Society to make sure they’re a bone fide solicitor. Finally, once you have chosen a solicitor, double check with The Law Society database to make sure they are a genuine solicitor and have the right to practice law.

IN DISPUTES YOU MAY NEED A LAWYER

It is now not rare that solicitors specialise in a particular area of law.  If you have a problem you need to find a specialist who can deal with matters such as yours.

Before lawyers were often jack of all trades and they dealt with their clients’ matters, whatever their need.  If you need specialist lawyers and you live in the Blackburn area, you may want to research solicitors Blackburn.

Lawyers make their decision in their field much earlier, as early as their trainee stage.  After all not everyone likes the run of the mill stuff and for job satisfaction they choose something that they are interested in.

                                              

All solicitors take instructions from their clients. They do deal with the paperwork, write documents and communicate in whatever area they have specialised in.  The majority of lawyers in the United Kingdom are involved in litigation of some kind.

That means that they are solving disputes between parties and, if necessary, they advise their clients to go to court to win their case. This can be in construction, employment, disputes and personal injury.

If your problem lies in these particular areas, you need to find a lawyer who can deal with it through mediation and if that fails by bringing a court case.

In the construction business, for instance, a contract is usually drawn up before work begins. However, not all details can be planned and matters such as plans and layout are often changed. The various parties involved will have to work at solving problems as the work proceeds.

Problem solving plays a big part in avoiding disputes from arising.  However, sometimes the contractor and the person who is the developer do get into disputes, say if the project costs more and the developer is unwilling to pay the extra costs.

Equally, errors in the design of the project can lead to extra costs and also delays as these are rectified.

You will need a solicitor who is conversant with the construction industry to make sure that all parties either come to an agreement or risk being sued.

For further information in the above areas of law please contact at acsols.

Four Tips to Help You Succeed with Your Personal Injury Case

Nobody wants to go to court. It’s one of the most stressful things that you can do. However, if you’ve had a personal injury, and it’s interfering with your life, then it’s important that you get financial and legal redress.

What Type of Injuries are Permissible for a Personal Injury Claim?

By now, most of us are familiar with personal injury claims. However, the vast majority of people assume that this type of claim only refers to road traffic accidents. This isn’t true. If you have had an injury, it wasn’t your fault, and there is a clear third party at fault, then you can make a claim. Below, we’re going to look at some other common areas that warrant a personal injury claim.

Accidents That Happen In the Work Place

This is a daily occurrence in the UK. If you're injured at work and it isn’t due to a lapse in concentration, or a mistake on your part, then you may be eligible for a claim. If your employer has flouted HSE rules or acted negligently, then it’s highly likely that you will receive compensation.

Animal Bites & Injuries

You may be able to claim off the owner if you have received, an injury from somebody else’s pet. However, there are strict rules that govern this. For instance, if you have antagonised the animal, you will not receive compensation. Alternatively, if you entered premises without permission, and there are signs that say “beware of the animal (e.g. Dog)”, then it is unlikely that you will receive compensation.

Injuries Caused by Defective Products

If you receive an injury from a product, even though you followed safety procedures, then you may be eligible for a claim. This covers many different types of product, so you might want to discuss any claims with our personal injury solicitors in Preston, who can advise you about whether you have a case. An example could be a faulty tumble dryer that causes a fire. Hotpoint and Indesit have just issued a mass recall on some of their products for this very reason.

Finding a Personal Injury Solicitor in Your Local Area

If you suffer an injury, it can create widespread difficulties in your life. For example, it may prevent you from earning a living or from getting around the home. In cases that arise from injuries that were not your fault, a personal injury claim can be used to obtain compensation from the negligent person, business, or employer that caused the injury.

In the UK, many specialist personal injury solicitors can help you make the claim. However, there are also third party companies that act as an intermediary between you and your solicitor. These third parties are not necessary and they can significantly reduce the amount of compensation that you receive because you will have to pay fees to them out of your compensation package. In a sense, they are taking advantage of other people’s misfortunes and taking the means away from these people to help themselves.

Instead, you should look for a personal injury solicitor directly, rather than going through a third party. To do this, follow the steps below:

1.Visit or contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau and ask for a list of approved personal injury solicitors in your area.

2.It is important that you choose a local solicitor because it will minimise the impact of travel on your injury. It will also enable you to check in more often. For example, if you live in Preston, you should use personal injury solicitors in Preston, rather than from somewhere further afield. It simply makes the whole process easier.

3.Carry out research before selecting the solicitor. Find out what other people think about the service. Find out about their success rate. Contact them and ask them how their fees work (in the UK, most personal injury claims operate on a ‘no win no fee’ basis and you should never have to pay for the costs yourself. However, it’s normal to pay a ‘success fee’. This can be no more than 25% of the compensation. It is lower in certain areas of the country, for example, personal injury solicitors in Preston are likely to take a lower success fee than solicitors working in a larger town.

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Common Or Civil Law The Numbers Don’t Add Up

The World Wide Web is a wonderful way to discover world facts and figures but don’t believe everything you read.

An example of a major discrepancy is a paper I just read online from a prestigious US law school that tries to explain the differences between common law and civil law.

Leaving aside the fact that the two sometimes overlap a little in some countries the author goes on to say there are about 150 countries that operate under civil law and about 80 countries under common law.

Now this is a little weird as there are around 196 countries in the world and I make 150 plus 80 come to 230.

England is responsible for the common law system that goes back many hundreds of years and it is no surprise that other common law countries were in the main at some time part of the United Kingdom’s territories.

It is therefore no surprise that a solicitors Preston firm such as Acsols operates just as one in Portsmouth and is bound by the same rules and regulations. The same could be said for a firm of lawyers in Cardiff but not of course in Edinburgh where the law still has ties to Roman law or civil law.

No matter where you live it is likely that at some time or times in your life you will need the help of a solicitor. Buying and selling property is the most obvious example but litigation is also a growing business.

If you have a grievance with your neighbour or feel victimised at work then a chat with your local lawyer may reveal you have a strong case to sue. Every year there are plenty of people that are unfairly dismissed or victimised at work and many just take it without fighting back.

An added bonus is the relatively new concept of entering into a no win no fee agreement that means your lawyer is convinced you have a good case or he or she would never pursue it on your behalf.

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No Win No Fee Can’t Lose

There are around three million personal injuries each year in the UK and if someone or something other than the injured party is to blame then compensation may be sought.