Using a solicitor

This information applies to Scotland only.

Do you need a solicitor

Solicitors are not the only people who can provide legal advice. Legal help may be available from:

• other professionals - for example, an accountant who can give advice on tax and company law

• advice centres, such as the Citizens Advice Bureaux, housing advice centres, money advice centres, law centres

• other organisations, such as trade unions and motoring organisations.

You may act for yourself in court proceedings; if you act for yourself, you may have a friend or lay representative to assist you in court.

A trainee solicitor is allowed to act as a lay representative in a simple procedure case.

Choosing a solicitor

If you need a solicitor you should choose one who has experience in the appropriate area of law.

You can find a solicitor on the Law Society of Scotland website. You can search for a solicitor by area of law, your postcode or by the name of the firm. Alternatively, a local advice agency such as a law centre or Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) should be able to advise you which local solicitors have experience in the appropriate area of law.

Please note: the Law Society of Scotland cannot provide legal advice.

Check the solicitor's website to find out what services they offer and how much they cost or you can ask if they have a price guide.

If you are in custody at a police station, or have been charged, you can obtain free legal advice under the duty solicitors’ scheme. If you are at court, the arrangements for providing the solicitor will vary.

If you need more information about the duty solicitors’ scheme, you should consult an experienced adviser for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau - where to get advice. In some cases, a CAB can refer you to an organisation which can offer free legal help. Solicitors who are registered to carry out legal assistance work can be found on the registers on the Scottish Legal Aid Board's website.

Consulting a solicitor

When you have chosen your solicitor you will need to make an appointment. In most circumstances you would be given an appointment within 5 working days. If the matter is urgent the solicitor should try and arrange an earlier appointment.

You should take all relevant documents to the appointment and it may be helpful to prepare in advance a list of questions for the solicitor.

You should take a form of identification with you to the interview, such as a current passport or driving licence. You should check with the solicitor beforehand exactly which documents you need to take to the interview.

A solicitor must comply with certain rules and standards laid down by the Law Society. The solicitor is expected, for example, to give you certain information at the first interview. This information includes:

• how the solicitor intends to deal with the problem

• what the solicitor’s next step is

• information about costs

• the expected timescale of the case

• who in the firm should be contacted if there is a problem with the service offered.

You should make sure you understand what the solicitor has told you and should not be afraid to ask questions.

During the case the solicitor should keep you regularly informed of progress even if there are no significant developments.

You can find out more about Standards for Scottish Solicitors on the Law Society for Scotland's website.

Discrimination

It is against the law for your solicitor to discriminate against you because of your age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, sex, sexual orientation, race, religion or belief. In addition, solicitors’ professional rules say that a solicitor should not discriminate against you because of your age. You can make a complaint about discrimination by:

• your own solicitor, or

• the solicitor who is acting for someone against you.

Read more about making a complaint.

Solicitors’ costs

At the beginning of the case the solicitor must give you information about the likely cost of the case and how the charge is calculated, for example, a fixed fee, an hourly rate or a percentage fee (for example when buying and selling houses).

In some cases, for example, personal injury cases, you may be able to enter into a speculative fee agreement (no win, no fee) with the solicitor. This means that the amount you will pay will depend on whether you win or lose your case. If you lose your case, you will have to pay the costs of the other side and your own solicitor's outlays. You will normally be asked to take out insurance to cover this situation. If you win your case, you will usually pay your solicitor's fee plus a 'success fee' from the damages and expenses you receive from the other side. You cannot enter into a speculative fee agreement if you are receiving legal aid.

If you are considering entering into a speculative fee agreement, you must be clear about what the terms of the agreement will entail, and you should consult an experienced adviser, for example at a Citizens Advice Bureau - where to get advice.

The costs of the case will not be charged according to the result, unless you and the solicitor have previously agreed otherwise.

The solicitor should discuss how the costs are to be met and whether you are eligible for legal aid. If the solicitor does not do legal aid work, they should still explain the advantages of legal aid to you if you are eligible, and give you the opportunity of going to a solicitor who does do legal aid work.

Read more about help with legal costs.

If the solicitor is holding money on your behalf it must be kept in an interest bearing account, and you are entitled to interest on the amount held.

The solicitor's bill

The solicitor’s bill will be made up of three elements: outlays, fees and VAT.

Outlays are the expenses the solicitor has had to pay out on your behalf - for example, the cost of a valuation survey by a surveyor. Fees cover the professional services carried out by the solicitor on your behalf. If the work was court work, the fees that the solicitor can charge are subject to court rules and scales. There are no scales that regulate non-court work, but the charges must be fair and reasonable. VAT will be charged on the fees and some outlays.

If you think the bill is too high, you can:

• ask the solicitor for a detailed account

• ask a court to look at the bill.

Getting a detailed bill from the solicitor

You can write to the solicitor asking for full details of how some or all of the charges on the bill were worked out. This letter should also include a request for a written reply. Items such as Land and Buildings Transaction Tax for buying a house are fixed amounts and cannot be questioned.

Asking a court to examine the bill

This procedure can be used for any work done by a solicitor, and is known as "taxation". A court can examine the whole bill, and can either approve it or reduce it. (It can also increase it, but this is not common).

The court makes a charge for carrying out a taxation. If it decides that the bill is too high the solicitor will have to pay the charge. However, if the court decides that the bill is reasonable, you will have to pay it, in addition to the bill itself.

For information on challenging a solicitor’s bill you should consult an experienced adviser for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau - where to get advice.

Complaints about solicitors

If you're unhappy about how your solicitor handled your case or how they behaved towards you, you can complain. Read about complaining about a legal practitioner.