Struggling to find affordable solicitor — cross-jurisdictional issue

[ScotSoul80]

Looking for practical suggestions please. I am based in Scotland and have received a letter of claim from an organisation based in England making allegations against me which I strongly deny. The letter was not sent by solicitors and has several procedural issues including a very short response deadline and no mention of ADR.

I do not need representation or ongoing legal advice. All I need is a solicitor to send a firm response letter on headed paper denying the allegations and setting out why the claim has no merit. I have already drafted a detailed response myself. I just need a professional to review it, improve it if necessary, and send it on their headed paper.

The problem is the cross-jurisdictional element. Because the contract specifies England and Wales, firms keep telling me I need dual jurisdiction coverage. I have approached numerous firms in Scotland and been quoted figures ranging from £465 to £495 per hour with some quoting around £2,000 just to review the papers and discuss strategy — which feels like paying a lot for nothing before a single word is written or sent. No fixed fee options have been offered.

The matter is urgent. I have submitted a formal complaint to the ICO and have union support on a related employment matter (discrimination), but the civil allegation strand has no professional support in place. The union have advised to either find a lawyer to help with it separately, or send my own response. I do believe the employer's letter of claim is deliberately trying to scare me off going to ET.

I have drafted my own response, but ideally I would find a solicitor willing to do this as a fixed fee piece of work given the draft is already largely done. It would be just reviewing it and sending it on headed paper but I can't find anyone willing to do this. Can anyone recommend a firm or service please?

(forgot to add there is seemingly no CAB legal service near me either)

Has anyone been in a similar position or have suggestions for:

• Scottish solicitors or dual jurisdiction firms who offer fixed fees for defined pieces of work
• Whether I actually need dual jurisdiction coverage just to send a response letter at the pre-action stage
• Whether sending a well-drafted response letter myself carries significant risk
• Any other affordable options I have not thought of

Thanks in advance.

[echat11]

Hi Scotsoul80

Welcome to LB

Have you tried JustBeagle, see if that can direct you to firms that can provide a suitable quote.

https://justbeagle.com/

[ScotSoul80]

I did, but it told me nothing and I had already tried one of the firms that came up without success.

[Frank1]

I'm not surprised that you are unable to find a solicitor who is prepared to draft a letter refuting the claim without reviewing all the paperwork and incurring a time charge.
If you end up drafting the response yourself you could copy your draft letter into AI such as Copilot and request that it is redrafted in a legal format using legal phrases

[PallasAthena]

A bigger problem than finding a cross-jurisdictional law firm is what it is that you are asking them to do.

In essence you are asking them to rent out their name to you. You are inviting them to trust your layperson's legal analysis of your situation and endorse it by signing their name to it on their letterhead, as their professional opinion, without themselves carrying out a full legal review to see if they agree with you. That carries a significant reputational risk to them if you have got it wrong. Allowing them to 'review and improve if necessary' your draft would do little to mitigate that risk if they cannot undertake a full review.

I am not surprised that you cannot find a law firm willing to do this.

Frank1's suggestion is a good one.

[Frank1]

It is the claimant that should be wary of the principles of the doctrine of forum non conveniens.
Brodies have published an article "Raising court action in a cross-border dispute: choose your jurisdiction wisely!"
Naughty Mr Kennedy should have known better.

[Frank1]

I've been searching online for the photos for an hour now but still can't find em

[atticus]

I agree with PallasAthena. When I was in practice, I would never have accepted that instruction.

[echat11]

I think it is taken for granted that a solicitor will ask for documents to review, before doing any work
on the case. Solicitor will have Terms and Conditions. Solicitors has to abide by the Code of Conduct.

[ScotSoul80]

Just to clarify, I would have preferred a response drafted by a solictor themselves, but none seem to want to assist, others quote me like £2000 just to talk 'strategy', before any letter is even drafted, and I just can't afford that as a disabled person, currently unemployed, on disability benefits. So doing it myself was / is a last option sort of thing.

[echat11]

Just to clarify, I would have preferred a response drafted by a solictor themselves, but none seem to want to assist, others quote me like £2000 just to talk 'strategy', before any letter is even drafted, and I just can't afford that as a disabled person, currently unemployed, on disability benefits. So doing it myself was / is a last option sort of thing.

You could contact CAB, see if they can assist.