Unfair Dismissal - Solicitor Fees

snuggle69

Equaliser123 wrote: »

Rubbish. The debate was about how a law firm would charge and whether it would be worthwhile instructing on a partial basis.

Keep up.

Well you havent read what I have then as one particular member is rambling on about being a senior barrister blah blah blah...who cares.

The idea of this site is to help people with their problems not ramble on about things which are irrelevant to the thread.

I will not be drawn any further into this as the idea is to help people not bicker!

Equaliser123

snuggle69 wrote: »

Well you havent read what I have then as one particular member is rambling on about being a senior barrister blah blah blah...who cares.

The idea of this site is to help people with their problems not ramble on about things which are irrelevant to the thread.

I will not be drawn any further into this as the idea is to help people not bicker!

Yes I have. And the person who mentioned being a barrister can speak from a position of experience.

I can also talk from a position of experience having worked as a solicitor in 3 very large law firms.

You?

zzzLazyDaisy

Just to take this back to the OP....

For *most* unfair dismissal claims, the amount at stake will not be worth the cost of instructing a solicitor to deal with the case. There will always be exceptions - the higher paid executive for example. But for most, the amount that you are likely to be awarded means that it just isn't going make instructing a solicitor worth while.

This is where no-win-no-fee advisers come into their own - but do be aware that employment law is a specialist area, and many high street firms don't have a specialist employment lawyer. Also many no-win-no-fee outfits are not solicitors at all, as there is no requirement for employment law advisers to be legally qualified. One of the problems with going no-win-no-fee is that all the time and cost is in the actual hearing itself, and the preparation of witness statements etc - what this can often mean in practice is that the adviser will put pressure on the client to accept an early settlement, even if it is likely to be less than s/he might be awarded by a tribunal, simply because their 33% of the extra award doesn't cover the extra time and effort for the adviser to prepare and represent at tribunal (it makes more economic sense to turn over a lot of easy low value cases quickly).

When I was in private practice we only did respondent work - because the time and effort that goes into representing most claimants cannot reasonably be charged for so the work doesn't pay. Having said that we did do some pro-bono work for employees, and since retiring I have continued to accept the occasional pro-bono case.

Also, on the point made by someone about the CAB - some CABx employ solicitors on their staff to give specialist employment law advice, as do some law centres, so it is worth asking around locally if there is an employment rights unit, or similar. Also if the CAB takes on the case (and they do have limited resources) they have access to the Bar's Free Representation Unit. As Sar El says, there is a lot of free work that goes on behind the scenes in the legal profession that the general public doesn't hear about - but at the end of the day we have a living to make, just like any other profession.

snuggle69

Equaliser123 wrote: »

Yes I have. And the person who mentioned being a barrister can speak from a position of experience.

I can also talk from a position of experience having worked as a solicitor in 3 very large law firms.

You?

Sorry I wasnt aware I had made any claims to what I have earnt nor what I do for a living, I purely said that from the few tribunal cases I have been to people who had represented themselves were treated fairly and the judge actually did help when they got in a bit of a pickle. And I hasten to add that the genuine ones did actually win their cases.

Freddie_Snowbits

Oh dear, another redundancy and did we join the union when we got the payrise on the back of it?

Sorry, I am a little pedantic on this point, we have lots of Graduates where I work, and some, really have never left school, go home all the time with their 'homework' trying to impress, do not need the union, like to be outside the scheme where the pay rise is negotiated for them.

Guess what, they come running when they had not had a rise for a few years with the same old story.

At my last companiy's redundancies, I also insisted that those in the Union, the Union shoul; fight for, those outwith ...

Oh, and if you ask Personnel, they will tell you the scoring criteria, if you have HR (Human Remains), forget it. This should not score days of sick but rather the number of times you took a sick leave, your last appraisals etc.

Oh and the tribunal, it will only ensure that the correct procedure had been followed, not whether you think it was unfair.

ianianian_2

Morning guys,

Original poster here - i assumed that all of the advice had stopped a week or so ago, but I must admit things have got interesting since then!

Thanks for all of the input.

I've gone with ‘no win no fee’ at a good solicitor company and my view has indeed changed as I’ve become more informed. At first I though one third of any winnings was a lot, but as a consultant myself I should really have been aware of fees, wages and the multiples that the actual solicitor company will add to pay for work winning staff, admin staff, IT, profit etc.

I do like the idea of representing myself, but i think it would be a silly move (although I appreciate others will have done well from it). I think it would be wrong of me to assume that I could do a better job of something than someone who does it for a living. If anything, I know a solicitor will be able to do things 100 times faster than I could - which frees me up to look for a new job!

macman

If anything, I know a solicitor will be able to do things 100 times faster than I could

If you really believe that, then you're going to be greatly disappointed...