Majority of Britons Do Not Check Solicitor Qualifications

July 28, 2011 - PRLog -- According to a new study conducted by a website for personal injury lawyers, the majority of Britons do not do their homework before instructing the services of a solicitor; with 52% of those who claimed to have used a solicitor within the past 3 years admitting that they did so without checking for correct qualifications first.

The study was conducted by www.personalinjurylawyers.co.uk, with 1,103 people aged 18 and over who had instructed a solicitor’s services within the past 3 years taking part. The study was conducted due to the site’s focus on ensuring that consumers only instruct the services of correctly qualified and accredited solicitors.

Respondents to the study were asked, “Before you instructed the services of a solicitor, did you check that the solicitor in question was correctly qualified to handle your query?” To this, over half, 52%, of those taking part answered “no.” Just a third, 31%, answered “yes;” whilst the remaining 17% explained that they had done ‘some’ checking of qualifications.

Those who said that they had not checked qualifications were further asked if they had been satisfied with the service provided by the solicitor in question. 41% of respondents admitted that they had been ‘unsatisfied.’

Those taking part were also asked if they had checked to see if the solicitor in question held accreditations in the area of law that their query concerned, to which over two thirds, 76%, of respondents again answered “no.”

Just a fifth, 22%, of people claimed that they had sought recommendations from others before instructing the services of a solicitor; whilst the vast majority, 62%, claimed that they had not  ‘looked around’ more than one solicitor before choosing their legal representative.

Furthermore, over half, 55%, of the Britons taking part admitted that they had not asked for a free consultation before agreeing to work with the solicitor in question.
Following the results of the study, Nicholas Tate, Founder of personalinjurylawyers.co.uk, had the following advice for things to look out for before instructing the services of a solicitor:

1) Make sure any solicitor you use holds a practising certificate issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. This ensures that the solicitor is qualified to practise and has the relevant insurance to protect you in the event that anything goes wrong.

2) Most solicitors will provide a free consultation, but always check that this is the case before you proceed. The free consultation is a great way of getting a feel for the solicitor, asking questions and making sure you are happy to instruct their services.

3) Ask the firm of solicitors if they have received any quality awards, such as the Lexcel award. Having such awards is a good indication that the firm has good standards of practise in place. Researching websites is also a great way to check information and any accreditations they hold.

4) Always choose a firm that has experience in the area of law that your enquiry relates to.

5) Use reviews and recommendations to see what other people think about the service they have received. Recommendations from friends and family are obviously great, but if this is not possible, there are websites which can be used to find reviews.

ENDS

LINK: http://www.personalinjurylawyers.co.uk

For more information please contact Emma Kent of 10 Yetis Public Relations Agency on emmak@10yetis.co.uk or 01452 348211.