The solicitor’s route is among the most well-known routes into the legal field But which exactly are solicitors? And what exactly is the role of a solicitor Sawbridgeworth? This guide will help you understand what a solicitor does.
Solicitor Definition and the Meaning
In the UK lawyers are a person who is an official of the profession known as law. They are and is able to deal with legal issues like conveyancing, drafting wills, and other documents. A solicitor is able to provide advice to clients, as well as represent them in the lower court and appoint lawyers to advocate for clients before UK higher Courts.
A solicitor’s job is to listen to the instructions of clients, which may comprise groups, individuals as well as private and public sector entities and assist them with the best actions to consider from a legal perspective.
If there is an issue that requires an administrative tribunal or a Court the solicitor may instruct barristers to take action for a client. The job of a solicitor is to draft the barrister’s brief. Solicitor advocates, who is granted Rights of Audience, can represent clients in the UK’s top Courts, in the same manner as a barrister could.
Solicitors have a close relationship with their clients and are usually the first source of contact for clients seeking legal guidance. The work of a solicitor could be split into legal contentious work – for instance, a contentious probate solicitor will look into probate cases involving contentious probate in which the wishes of a deceased individual are in question in addition to non-contentious law work.
Legal work that is contentious involves the resolution of disagreements between different parties and typically involves court or tribunal hearings.
Legal work that is not contentious concentrates specifically on legal issues in a commercial or personal issue – such as, for example, negotiating the merger of a company or writing an estate plan.
Day-to-Day Solicitor Roles
In a typical day the role of a solicitor can differ, and include various tasks, including:
Consulting, interviewing and meeting with clients
Negotiating and drafting contract and legal documentation
Offering specialist legal and business advice in different areas of law.
Interpreting and analyzing complex issues of law
Preparing and instructing cases for barristers
What are the practice areas that solicitors Do They Work In?
There are a variety of solicitors that work across 24 different areas of practice in law. The kind of work solicitors do is based on the law area within which they are working. For instance the work of the family law solicitor will differ from the work of environmental solicitors.
If you are planning to become solicitor, you’ll be required to give some seriously to the field of law you wish to specialize in as this will decide the type of work you will be doing.
Where do solicitors work?
Solicitors work for the firm of solicitors or work in-house for either a public or private sector organization.
Law firm
The majority of solicitors begin their career with a legal firm, which provides an array of on the job training and pursuing qualifications. A majority of solicitors be able to specialize in a particular area of law or to practice several fields of law.
In-house
In-house solicitors work within the legal department. For instance the BBC and a variety of government departments, and a number of charity organisations have their own legal department. In-house solicitors start their careers in the law firm before transitioning to a position in a legal department within an organization.
Solicitor Working Hours
Most solicitors operate under the standard 9-5 working hours. But, lawyers often spend long hours, unable to socialize, and completing documents to be completely prepared, manage their workloads and adhere to deadlines.
In some instances – particularly those working for multinational corporations or clients who are located overseas – need to work in different time zones. Weekend and evening work is not unusual.
The hours of work of solicitors must be flexible to accommodate demands of clients, therefore the time the solicitor is working are not always predictable. However, the hours that a solicitor is working will depend on the business or company they work for. Some have more regular hours while others are less.
What’s the Difference Between A Solicitor and a Lawyer?
The sole difference between a solicitor versus lawyers is the place where the words come from. “Solicitor” is more an British word, whereas “lawyer” tends to be an American word.
In the UK”lawyer” is not a term used to describe an individual role in the legal system, however, it is an general word to cover all those who work as an attorney. In reality, the word “lawyer” does not have a defined significance under UK law, as per the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) the governing body for solicitors.
How many Solicitors Are There In The UK?
The solicitor’s profession is a thriving one across the UK. As per the SRA in May 2022, there were 1560555 solicitors currently working as solicitors. There are 215,567 solicitors registered in England as well as Wales.
Which industry body are solicitors Indicated by?
Solicitors are overseen through The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The SRA also regulates lawyers and other professionals who are not legal in law firms. It also regulates non-legal professionals within law firms. SRA has a strict code of conduct which solicitors must follow for the best interest of the interests of their clients as well as the general public.
Law firms and solicitors that are found to be in breach in the code conduct may be liable for disciplinary actions. The SRA website contains more information.
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