People often associate solicitors with litigation and indeed sometimes people’s first contact with solicitors is when they are being sued or want to sue. But the converse is the reality of solicitors’ work.
The range of solicitors’ work is considerable and mostly non-contentious, such as conveyancing, wills, divorce, contracts and advisory work.
Those engaged in commercial life would benefit from solicitors’ advice on:
Many of the above can create legal issues which, if not handled properly, have the potential to incur financial loss, whereas preventive legal advice can avert trouble and save money. The corporate sector has a considerable body of regulatory obligations to comply with so getting legal advice to prevent future problems arising make sense.
Individuals too can avail of solicitors’ advice on a whole range of issues, such as:
Most law firms will handle criminal law as part of their general practice; however there are specialist criminal law firms too and for serious criminal law offences these should be strongly considered for their specialist expertise.
Solicitors, and indeed barristers, also work in tribunals such as the Employment Appeals Tribunal, Equality Tribunal and Labour Court.