Who deals with it?

We will write to tell you who is responsible for your case. Contact that person for information or, if you have any queries. Sometimes another lawyer will represent you in court or see you. We will tell you if the person who is responsible for your case changes.
You will be told which Partner has overall responsibility for your case. That Partner supervises the work and will deal with any problems, but may not have day-to-day involvement.

How do we deal with it?

We will advise you on the issues in your case. We will confirm your initial instructions and our advice in writing. We will inform you of progress at key stages, as some cases can take a long time. We do not have full control of how quickly your case is dealt with, as it will involve other parties or courts. At the end of the case we will confirm the result and return any personal papers. If you want copies of any extra papers, please tell us, as after an appropriate period old files are destroyed.

We are committed to Publically Fundedwork. We will tell you if Public Funding is available and help you with the forms.

If Public Funding is given, we will give you our best estimate of the total costs of your case.
You may have to pay a contribution to Public Funding. If you fail to pay then your Public Funding could be discharged.
Public Funding only covers our costs. If you lose a court case, you could be ordered to pay all or part of the costs of the other side if a court thinks it is reasonable.
If you win the other side may not be ordered to pay your costs or may not be able to pay. Then the Statutory Charge could apply to any money or property you get.

Public Funding and the Statutory Charge

If a person with Public Funding recovers or preserves money or property, the Public Funding Fund will have to be paid out of that money. This often applies in divorce cases. It can be complicated. Your lawyer will explain how it may affect you. Please ask, if you are not clear. It does mean that people on Public Funding will sometimes have to pay their own costs.

What will it cost if you are not on Public Funding?

Legal work is often expensive as it involves a lot of time from an experienced lawyer. In certain matters such as conveyancing, we can give a written quotation. In contentious matters (litigation / court cases / disputes) this is not usually possible.
If you are not on Public Funding, we will tell you our hourly rates and, if possible, give you our best estimate of the total costs of your case. With contentious cases, any estimate can only be a rough guide.
You can set a limit on the costs that we incur without your permission.
If you win a court case, the other side may not be ordered to pay all your costs, or may not be able to pay the costs.
Ultimately you are responsible for our costs, whether you win or lose. If you lose, you may have to pay costs to the other side as well.

We hope you are happy with our service, but if you do have a problem then please speak to the person responsible for your case. If it cannot be sorted out, then you can write to or telephone Irene Rees, the Practice Manager, who will deal with it under our Formal Complaints Procedure.

If for any reason we are unable to resolve the problem between us, then we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which also provides a complaints and redress scheme.

Harthills Solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA 63630).

Sometimes conveyancing/family/probate/company work involves investments. We are not authorised by the Financial Services Authority and so may refer you to someone who is authorised to provide any necessary advice. However we can provide certain limited services in relation to investments, provided they are closely linked with the legal services we are providing to you, as we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Copyright © 2003 Harthills
Design 100Web