There are many laws to protect you and help you sort out disputes and problems you may have with people or organisations. These could be problems with your home, your partner or your job.
Of course, many problems can be sorted out simply by talking to the person or people involved. But you may want help from a professional with expert knowledge of the law to help you.
This might be, for example if:
Legal advisers are people who are trained in the law - usually a particular area of law - to help you. There are many types of legal adviser, including Consumer Law Solicitors, Legal Executives and Barristers. Using a legal adviser does not mean that your problem will be decided in a courtroom and you don't have to be wealthy or have a very complicated problem to use one. They are there to help you understand your rights, and to use the law to solve your problem. They will do this in a way that gets you the best result as quickly as possible.
The right legal adviser for you is a person who knows about your type of problem and can deal with it in a way you want. Several organisations can help you find advisers who are specialists for example, the Community Legal Service, your union, the Law Society and Citizens Advice.
Once you have the name of an adviser who deals with your type of problem, you should phone them and ask for an initial interview, which will probably be for about 15 minutes. Many advisers offer an initial interview for free - but check first.
You should make sure that:
To make sure you choose the right adviser, you need to make the most of your initial interview. So go prepared. Take with you copies of any letters or documents about the problem including any court papers. Your adviser should cover the following points and if they don't, ask them:
Make sure you are happy with the way they have answered your questions and confident they have understood your problem before you appoint them.
When you employ an adviser you will probably have another, longer meeting to discuss your case. After any meetings with your adviser you should make sure you know what you need to do next, for example, providing any more information or documents, and what your adviser will do next. You should also know if there are any key dates or deadlines and when your adviser will call or meet you again. Your adviser must follow professional rules, including keeping information you provide private and confidential. You must tell them everything about your case so they can make sure you get the best result at the lowest cost.
If something goes wrong or you're unhappy with the service you've received, complain to the adviser, or their firm. They should be able to give you a copy of a complaints procedure and tell you where you can complain if you are not happy with the firm's response.
Please be aware that this is not legal advice and if you are concerned about any of the issues mentioned you should speak to a lawyer.
Slater and Gordon Lawyers is one of the UK's largest and well known law firms with offices in Newcastle, London, Manchester, Ashton-Under Lyne, Liverpool, Chester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Milton Keynes, Preston, Wakefield and Wrexham.
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