Whether you’re looking for a local solicitor to represent you in personal injury law, landlord issues, medical negligence law, or anything in between, it’s crucial to find a high quality solicitors firm in any case. To help you understand your requirements, this blog outlines why it’s important to find a high quality local solicitors firm to help and represent you. It then explains some of the methods you can use to check the reputation of a solicitors firm, from testimonials and reviews to doing some research and word of mouth.
Why Should You Find a High Quality Local Solicitors Firm?
It’s worth noting that the better the quality of the local solicitors you choose, the higher your chances are of having a successful legal case. By opting for better quality, you’ll be increasing the likelihood that you’re satisfied with your investment, improving your value for money. Otherwise you’ll end up paying lots of money to lose your legal case which can become a costly affair, especially when you pay the lawyers fees across the board, or if you choose to pursue the case with another set of local solicitors.
Keep in mind that the better the quality of local solicitors you opt for, the more your mind will be put at ease which will allow you to spend more time on your business and less time worrying about the case. In this sense, using local solicitors of a high quality will prove to be a cost effective option in the long run. Another good reason to find a high quality local solicitors firm is that you’ll be able to build a relationship and they can work on any future legal issues your business may have. By this point they’ll fully understand your business and your specific requirements and they’ll prove to be more effective from case to case.
Word of Mouth
If one of your top priorities is to find a solicitor who’s local, then word of mouth is probably the best place to start. If any friends or family have used local solicitors then asking them how they found their services is a great way to begin. Not least of all, you’ll be able to trust their judgement and they may also know other people who have used their services.
You’ll want to ask questions like:
- Did the solicitors communicate the process and their decisions clearly with you at each step of the way?
- Were you dealt with in a professional manner?
- Did you feel genuinely listened to and included in the process?
Word of mouth is crucial for service-based businesses because it establishes how reputable they are in a given community. The best businesses will forever strive to be considered reputable and reliable because they know that word of mouth is one of the most effective forms of marketing. You can take advantage of this by using word of mouth as a way to quickly filter out poor choices.
Knowledge Qualifications
One thing that’s an absolute must is to use a local solicitor with the right knowledge. For example, maybe you’ll have a local solicitors firm that focuses more on medical law and they’ll have an expert on medical negligence law. Or maybe you’ll have an employment-oriented solicitors firm with experts on personal injury law.
It goes without saying that, to be a knowledgeable quality local solicitor, they’ll need to be fully qualified. In the UK, this means having been to university and having passed the Legal Practice Course (before 2021) or the Solicitors Qualifying Exams (past 2021).
It’s also the case that some solicitors firms specialise in particular areas. Some may have obtained a masters in particular areas of law and this could be advantageous for your case as they’ll know the law more thoroughly. Or perhaps they will alternatively have good contacts with key barristers. Come what may, checking the academic background of prospective solicitors and their firms is a great way to figure out how knowledgeable they are in the appropriate areas of law.
Experience and Testimonials
A great way to determine whether your local solicitor is the best option for you is to understand how experienced they are, and a great way to do this is to ask for – or find – some testimonials. Experience is crucial in the field of law because it’ll allow for a much more efficient process that will save you money in the long run. In essence, more experienced lawyers simply know the law better because they’ve been exposed to a greater variety of cases which allows them to better understand what does and doesn’t work.
Asking your lawyer about their success rate and how their most recent cases fared is a good place to start. You should then ask for a handful of testimonials, especially in areas that specifically relate to your case. You may wish to use the internet for this as well, just to make sure you get the most representative picture possible.
Reviews
A good way to get a sense of how reliable and reputable your local solicitor is, and whether you’ll be useful for your case, is to check reviews. Thankfully, this is much easier to do with the advent of the internet and, even just with word of mouth, the best solicitors firms will look for high customer ratings and reviews as this will bring in more potential clients. It’s a classic catch-22 situation because this naturally leads to a better quality of service in order to get those positive reviews!
You’ll want to start on their website and check if they have testimonials or a ratings page. Then you’ll want to check the Legal 500 and perhaps see if they’ve been involved with the Solicitors Regulation Authority for any past activities or cases. This will help to establish the integrity of the firm and whether or not you’re choosing a quality local solicitor.
Online Research
Another thing you should do is conduct some research for yourself. You don’t need to become an expert on the area in question but having a basic understanding of the areas you need help with will allow you to choose the right local solicitors firm. For example, if you need help with personal injury law or medical negligence law then reading a couple of articles and watching some videos, even just for half an hour to two hours, will be hugely beneficial. You’ll be able to tell if somebody is trying to pull the wool over your eyes, or if they aren’t providing an adequate level of service. For example, is the lasting power of attorney cost they’ve provided accurate and reasonable, especially compared to other local solicitors?
Pick Up the Phone
Another thing you’ll definitely want to do before settling with your choice of local solicitors is to pick up the phone and have a conversation. Only the very best solicitors will put time aside to discuss your queries unreservedly. Have some questions in mind and compare the answers you get from each of the local solicitors firms you approach. For example, you may want to ask:
- What makes you stand out from other local solicitors?
- Do you have specialist knowledge in my concerned area of law?
- What are the core values of your solicitors firm?
- How many solicitors do you have compared to your average number of clients? How much time do you set aside for each client based on this ratio?
This exercise isn’t about interrogating the local solicitors firm in question; it’s instead about detecting how genuine they are. You’ll quickly be able to separate those who really care and will put lots of time and effort into your case from those who will view you as simply another number.
Instinct
At the end of the day, it all comes down to instinct and personal judgement. You need to take the above steps and lay all the factors out in front of you. Then it’s a case of going through your options one by one and comparing them to your specific requirements. Your gut reaction will indicate who you’d most naturally lean towards. Otherwise, create a table for each potential solicitor to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of choosing them, whether it’s for personal injury law or medical negligence law.
Here at Harding Evans, we have a large team of over 100 highly trained and very well experienced solicitors to help with your every need. We want to help make your business run smoother and your personal life be less stressful and hectic. If you have any further questions about our local solicitors, or if you’d like to know more about the range of service we provide, then don’t hesitate to get in touch with us by calling 01633 244233 for our Newport head office today!