Solicitor

Introduction

Solicitors provide advice, assistance and representation to members of the public on all legal matters. They work directly with their clients and are usually the first point of contact for anyone looking for legal advice. Solicitors may represent their clients in the lower courts but not usually in the higher courts. They may, after experience, qualify as a solicitor advocate, and work in both.

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Work Activities

Most solicitors work in private practice, in partnership with other solicitors. Others are employed solicitors, for example, working for central or local government, or a commercial or industrial company.

Private practice solicitors can specialise in a specific area of the law, although sole practitioners and small firms tend to deal with all aspects of the law. Medium and larger sized firms of solicitors may specialise in areas such as crime, family law, probate, business law and conveyancing.

Conveyance means the transfer of ownership and rights of property (for example, a house, flat or area of land) from one person to another. Solicitors carry out in-depth checks (called 'searches') on all the factors that may affect the buyers, for example, rights of way, ownership of adjoining fences and walls, and planning proposals for new roads, houses or factories nearby. They investigate any original agreements or covenants that may still be legally valid. Then they draw up the contract for the client.

Solicitors advise anyone who is in dispute with another person. They help their clients plan how to deal with a dispute, advising them if the matter could be settled out of court or if the threat of court action may influence the other party. If legal proceedings begin, solicitors may attend to represent the client. In serious cases, they seek the services of an advocate.

Solicitors who deal with probate work are responsible for drawing up wills and advising clients on how best to provide for relatives. They calculate the amount of money that people named in a will are entitled to receive, and may trace named relatives who have left the country.

Those solicitors who deal with business law advise clients on issues such as taxes, employment law, export law and company mergers.

Some large solicitors' firms, especially in the City of London but also in other cities around the country, specialise in large, corporate clients. Solicitors in these firms may deal with large, multi-million pound deals, perhaps involving international companies.

Some solicitors' firms specialise in areas such as patents and copyrights, shipping, banking, computer law, media law or environmental law.

Some firms specialise in helping legally aided clients (who cannot normally afford a solicitor's fees). Legal-aid practices deal with a wide range of issues, including crime, injury claims, divorce law, welfare rights and clinical negligence.

Employed solicitors may work in the legal departments of large companies or other organisations.

Solicitors who work for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are civil servants who investigate and prosecute all crime in Scotland.

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Personal Qualities and Skills

You will need an in-depth knowledge of law, and excellent communication skills. You must be able to absorb and interpret complex information and use concise, plain English to explain this to clients. You must be able to work with people from all backgrounds, some of whom may be angry or distressed. You will need to use your knowledge, and a calm, professional manner, to win the confidence and respect of your clients.

You must be a good listener, and know how to ask the right questions to find out more about the client's situation. Appearing in court demands confidence and the ability to argue a case persuasively. Solicitors need excellent interpersonal skills to work with other professionals, including advocates, judges and other court staff.

Preparation for cases requires a thorough, methodical and patient approach to research. You must have good organisational skills to plan and prioritise cases, which you may have to take on at short notice. The ability to work well under pressure is very important.

You should have information technology skills to use, for example, word processing packages, spreadsheets, electronic mail and information retrieval systems.

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Pay and Opportunities

Salaries for solicitors vary widely.

The pay rates given below are approximate.

The Law Society of Scotland recommends a minimum salary for trainee solicitors. From 1 June 2007 the recommended rates were £15,000 in the first year of training, rising to £18,000 in the second year. Experienced solicitors usually earn at least £35,000 a year, and sometimes over £100,000 a year.

In England and Wales the recommended minimum salary for trainee solicitors is £15,820 a year. This is often exceeded: outside London, average pay is around £18,000 - £25,000 with £30,000 plus salaries available in London. Top city firms offer £92,000 a year to newly qualified solicitors.

Generally, qualified solicitors earn £30,000 - £50,000 a year, rising to £51,000 - £100,000 or more. Equity partners can earn much more, depending on the success of the firm.

In the Procurator Fiscal Service in Scotland, trainee fiscal deputes earn about £24,500 - £25,500 a year. A qualified depute starts at about £28,000. This can rise to about £56,000 a year.

In the Crown Prosecution Service, in England and Wales, trainee solicitors start at around £21,000 a year. Elsewhere in the public sector, salaries range from around £23,000 - £35,000, rising to around £50,000. Higher earners can make in excess of £60,000 a year.

Many solicitors work long hours when they are completing a particular case or project. Some occasional weekend work and late night work may be involved for those specialising in legal aid or criminal law.

The scope of work available to qualified solicitors is immense and specialist areas are growing and changing all the time.

Many solicitors choose to enter private practice; from very large city firms advising major businesses and government, to small, independent high street solicitors with a few partners or, perhaps, sole practitioners.

Other opportunities are with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, central and local government departments, the armed forces, and in commerce and industry.

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Adult Opportunities

It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

The University of Strathclyde has an evening pre-entry course for mature students to the Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences and the Strathclyde Business School which includes a Law module for those interested in entry to the LLB.

The Open University offers a qualifying law degree by distance learning. (Please note that this is in English law only.)

• 36% of solicitors are self-employed.
• 9% work part-time.
• 6% have flexible hours.
• 5% of employed solicitors work on a temporary basis.

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