my legal aid solicitor.

Hi ther,
I have been using a high street solicitor for my Divorce. I have had problems with being kept informed about what is going on and the length of time that it has taken for mail to be sent to me and my ex wifes solicitor. It can take two weeks for any mail to be typed. The typist also is the part time receptionist which I have just found out.
Some important mail has taken so long to reach me that I have driven to the offices to pick it up.
I have spoken to my Solicitor about this and she has told me that it is beyond her control and I could see that she was embarassed by the fact.
I decided to speak to the owner of the company at his head office and after some badgering he rang me. He told me that as I was on Legal Aid I was "only paying a fraction of what it would cost me if I was paying as a private person". He said that his service at that office reflected that in its staffing levels.
I have had instances where the delays have caused friction because the mail has taken so long to get from them to its destination. My Solicitor has told my wifes that they have a very busy typing pool, when in fact there is no typing pool.
This simple matter is dragging on and on and I am considering speaking to the legal aid board about it. I will be paying the bill anyway when the divorce is finalised.
Any opinions welcome please.

Can't advise you n much but i'm on legal aid to me legal aid = 2nd class service , you are not a person with feelings your just a project for them to get a bit of money.

Thanks for your reply Angel. I suppose that I am not that suprised. I am giving in a lot over the settlement so I think its another solicitor and borrowed money tomorrow. Go for more of the cake.

I'm really sorry you both have had similar experiences. I was on legal aid and got excellent service - better than by partner is currently getting, despite paying a fortune to his solicitor, so its not always the case that legal aid = 2nd class service.

Hi Ephelia,
Thanks for your reply.
My wifes solicitor made application to the legal aid board for funding to go to court. It was two weeks later after my solicitor was notified of what was happening that I was told and I had to collect the letter otherwise I would have waited another week to get it.
This was a very important issue but all my solicitor wanted to do was apply for the same to try and get another 5k. I am gutted and think I will be dispencing of her services when I phone this morning.
I think its a disgraceful way to conduct business.

I'm so sorry to hear you're so unhappy with your solicitor. You do need to have confidence in the person giving you advice, so best wishes and I hope you find someone good.

It really made a difference to me to feeli the advice I was getting was both intelligent and compassionate - and I know your solicitor is not supposed to be a 'friend' but they should have some compassion for your situation - my partner recently received a letter where his solicitor described himself as the 'fee earner', my partner felt devastated by this.

My X2B is on the fourth Legal Aid solicitor in the firm he is instructing and that is only in 4 months!
I am paying privately and it annoys me that he is self-employed so can get Legal Aid after showing evidence of his meagre monies, when I know he has a stash of cash.
Apparently though after being in touch with the LSC myself, as we are still living in the MH and I support him financially, ie pay household bills and purchase groceries, my wage should be taken into account when assessing his Legal Aid eligibility. So far, none of his solicitors have stayed long enough to re-assess this.
My solicitor has explained fully the divorce process and what I will need to do, his solicitor has not explained anything dont know if this is characteristic of a Legally Aided treatment of a client.
GKx