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Solicitors, partners or sole practitioners.
70,000+ |
70,000 – 100,000 qualified solicitors; practising in about 8,000 firms.
Many work for the Crown Prosecution Service, or for private firms or
companies.
Solicitors are general practitioners with offices in the high street.
Usually in partnerships, a few are sole practitioners. |
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Multi-disciplinary
partnerships (MDPs) |
Non-solicitors joining firms as partners.
The future being a one-stop-shop for a client in legal/financial matters
such as tax. |
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Type of work |
Most solicitors provide general advice and do 'paper work', e.g. writing
letters, drafting contracts and tenancies, conveyancing, wills, divorce
petitions, and routine legal matters for their clients.
Advocacy in the lower courts (magistrates' court and county court) with
limited rights of audience in the Crown Court and High Court.
They have the right to conduct litigation, that is, the right to start and
conduct legal proceedings, other than appearing in court.
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General practitioners |
Most solicitors are general practitioners but many now specialise, for
example in crime and obtain franchises from the CLS. |
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Loss of work to paralegals |
Conveyancing income eroded by Licensed Conveyancers and specialist will
writing services. Some charities write wills free of charge if they are to
be a beneficiary. |
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Access to solicitors |
Clients approach solicitor directly, "off the street". |
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Solicitor-advocates
S. 31 Courts and Legal Services
Act 1990 |
Gives solicitors rights of audience in all courts (subject to any training
requirements) as solicitor-advocates. There are about 3,700
solicitor-advocates nation wide. |
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Solicitors' Earnings |
Newly qualified average in excess of £20,000 per year, rising depending on
size of practice and specialism.
Many solicitors earn more than a barrister of equivalent experience.
The minimum wage is set by the Law Society, see here.
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Training
Contract
The minimum salary |
Trainee solicitors should be paid at least a
minimum salary as prescribed by the Law Society.
The salary levels are reviewed annually.
Minimum salary levels, which came
into effect on 1 August 2006, are
• £17,110 for trainees working in Central London
• £15,332 for trainees working elsewhere
In accordance with the standard training contract, these levels apply to
all trainees.
Whether or not to continue the minimum
salary scheme is reviewed from time to time by the
Solicitors Regulation Authority.
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Highest earning solicitor £16.75 million |
Jim Beresford, 59, took home £16.75 million in 2006, while his only other
partners, his daughter, Esta, 29, and long-term associate Doug Smith, 50,
shared £3.7 million.
The family firm, based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, has been a major
player in settling the compensation claims of miners made ill by their
years underground.
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Relationship with client |
This is fiduciary,
and confidential. The confidentiality extends to the solicitor and not the
client.
Such is the relationship that the only items the police cannot seize when
searching a suspect's premises is material relating to this relationship. |
