Solictiors, Have they the right credentials?

Is there a database held on pratising solicitors in england, their status and qualifications?

Great Question BVG.

I wish I had thought to ask it. Presumably there is a database of qualified solicitors that is held at the law society. But do we have a right to access it and find out about our lawyers?

I'd be interested to know if my x2b's solicitor is qualified as they are barely literate and I am amazed that anyone who was legally trained could come up with the garbage they do. My solicitor has even said that the way they are acting is "most unusual". From that I read between the lines and translated it as "flipping crazy".

Anyway, I'm sure one of our esteemed legal experts on the forum can enlighten us.

Take care,

Secret

It would be useful to know how many ancillary relief cases a solicitor has dealt with and how many complaints have been made against them.

Who khows BVG?
I sometimes feel in my case I am doing the work myself.I am doing so much and paying so much. You can get solicitors who are taking so many cases that they are finding it hard to keep up with everything. Hard to keep track of your own case and it's very depressing to be paying so much money when they can't keep up neither. But hey it's a business for them and our loss! No comfort here but feeling the same as you.

I have no faith in the legal system.Sorry to be pessimistic. But wish you well,

Anuska

Another great idea in the making I think. How about league tables for solicitors that detail:

1. Number of divorce cases handles
2. Positive outcome for client
3. How much they charge per hour
etc....

Any other ideas for what should be included in the tables?

Someoen started a site called: www.ratemysolicitor.co.uk last year but it never took off, perhaps we should all get on there and post our experiences. Something like that would be a great resource for newbies who are looking for legal representation. (I hasten to add I have nothing to do with the site and only found it by chance)

Personally, I have also done an awful lot of leg work in my divorce. I believe you get out what you put in and you can't exactly expect your lawyer to know your ex partner as well as yourself. So I rely on my solicitor for the legal advice and strategy. I have utmost respect for my solicitor. I interviewed five before I decided on one that I thought would represent me properly.

I wonder if I'll feel that way once it is all over and done with and I have burned through the best part of £10K.

First ancillary relief hearing, hear I come

Take care,

Secret

An interesting discussion....and one that I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about.


The Wikivorce Solicitors directory is about as a good a 'database' as exists currently.

i.e.

1) It lists family law specialists not general solicitors.

2) It includes details and some searchable criteria missing from most other directories such as:
- do they accept legal aid work
- do they offer a free 1st appointment
- do they take a collaborative approach
- personal details (date sol qualified)
- whether person is a solicitor or legal exec
(i have known several people retain someone they thought was a sol to find out months later they were a legal exec......ask up front!!)
- date qualified etc etc

What it does not yet do is have any type of reviews/ratings facility.

This is not due to any technical limitation....it would be pretty easy to set up the facility for people to review and rate sols in the directory.


But there are challenges to this....

1) Negative reviews could be seen as defamatory and it would be kind of brave for a website to host negative reviews of hundreds of solicitors! I mean how long before you get sued!!!

Perhaps the answer here is to have star ratings....plus allow positive reviews. i.e. a disappointed customer can leave a 1 star rating. A satisfied customer can leave 4 or 5 star rating and a nice little review.

Then i guess the cream should rise to the top.


2) A second challenge is the sheer number of solicitors and the length of time the whole process takes.

This means it will take a long while for example for any site (even the wonderful wiki) to get to where it has 6 reviews for each of the 5 solicitors in Littletown.


So a review database would be great ....but some difficulties to overcome.


I actually see a different solution emerging sooner.

What if a few of the national chains of sols were to sign up to a new deal.....a kind of Wiki charter...which stipulates the service and standards they will deliver.


A bit like what Kwikfit did for tyres.

- More standardisation

- More consistent service

- Fixed pricing for specific service elements

(perhaps 1 price to get to first hearing, another up to FDR, obviously with some caveats and service limitations)


I think that is the way forward.

I would be very suprised if you dont see something along these lines from Wiki very soon

Interesting DBNO, the Amstrad approach to providing legal services, "pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap"

Obviously as a customer I like the fixed cost model but each case is so different that you wonder how it would be possible for anyone to implement. Nothing worse than being quoted one price then finding you have to pay more.

I must admit though that one of my key fears while going through this is the uncertainty about costs. I remember when the shock of my first legal bill. It really focuses the mind.

Take care,

Secret