If a solicitor claims they are going to send you a letter?

[paddyhaig]

If a solicitor claims they are going to send you a letter, and a 'Client Care' agreement. That solicitor knowing that matters are time sensitive. How long should you wait, before it is assumed that the letter is not going to come? And can a solicitor claim that they will send you a letter and simply not follow up with a letter. Knowing full well by keeping that client hanging this will cause further issues for them.
Is the some SRA unethical behavior here? I have to hire a solicitor.
Also, can I communicate with several solicitors at the same time to see which one is the best fit for my matters?

[pt2537]

Re: If a solicitor claims they are going to send you a letter?

If a solicitor claims they are going to send you a letter, and a 'Client Care' agreement. That solicitor knowing that matters are time sensitive. How long should you wait, before it is assumed that the letter is not going to come? And can a solicitor claim that they will send you a letter and simply not follow up with a letter. Knowing full well by keeping that client hanging this will cause further issues for them.
Is the some SRA unethical behavior here? I have to hire a solicitor.
Also, can I communicate with several solicitors at the same time to see which one is the best fit for my matters?

Hi there

firstly, do you know for sure the client care letter hasnt been sent? most CC letters go by post, could it have got lost? Maybe its worth pointing out that if the client care letter isnt returned with funds on account of costs ( if requested) then the solicitor cant start work.

There may be a good explanation as to what has happened, have you called the lawyer to find out? Lawyers make mistakes, they are human after all, if you dont follow up the letter the lawyer wont know.

Also, you are free to move your case to whereever you like so theres no restriction on this

hope this helps

[Diana M]

Re: If a solicitor claims they are going to send you a letter?

I have to hire a solicitor.
Also, can I communicate with several solicitors at the same time to see which one is the best fit for my matters?

You can communicate with as many solicitors you like until you find the one that's compatible with your needs and at the right price for the job.

It makes sense to source one that specializes in the area of law which applies to your particular problem. For example you wouldn't ask a dentist to take out your appendix

You want the best one for the job who may not necessarily be local to you. With phones, internet, Skype, email etc you can instruct one miles away, although if there are likely to be court hearings then that may increase the disbursements budget.

Is this to do with your other thread with a Probate and Power of Attorney issue here > http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...088#post714088

So if anyone is interested, I am about to completely loose it. I spoke with a local lawyer a week ago last Friday who was recommended by a friend. When I called into his office, I explained briefly what my matter was, he suggested during our 20 minute conversation that I send him copy's of the correspondence that my brother and I had gone into since Xmas He told me he was personally too busy, and that I should speak with a junior at his firm and that I should come back to his office the following Monday, as his junior only worked Mon, Tue, Wed. He said however he had some reservations taking me on, due to the fact, that I had already hired and fired two solicitors. I went to the office the following Monday and spoke with both solicitors at the same time. They were both quick to point out to me that they had reservations in working for me, because of my past record of firing solicitors. They however indicated that they at a push might be interested in assisting me. The was no mention of the correspondence that he had requested, and I had gotten to him, or my emailed summary of events that he had requested.
The meeting seemed like they were more interested in what they could get out of me and the estate, than how they might professionally assist me. I left the office with them telling me that they were going to make inquiries with the estate solicitor 'She' and find out what the deal was, and give me an estimate as to what they thought it might cost, and the junior solicitor whilst I was there pointed out what her hourly fee's were.
I left the office. The following day, I received an email from the junior solicitor that she suggested I print out and sign. It was a rather generic 'Client care letter' agreement. Along with this CCL was another document summing up what she believed my instructions to be. These instructions were not quite what we had discussed at the solicitors office. She stated in this letter that, I was "prepared to enter into an agreement with your brother which may in turn give him a greater proportion of your late mother’s estate." This was not true! I had told the solicitors that I had given up fighting over the value of the property, and the figure set at my brothers weekly rent, that is 170+ weeks past due. I had come to an agreement with my brother over these figures. So the fight for all intents and purposes was now over. Now all that was needed was to equally divide up the estate. Also including the figures my brother and I had agreed over, as part of the same estate.
My other legal issue being, how might I deal with the Power Of Attorney aspect of the estate. This was seemingly skipped over by the solicitors in our conversation at the office and again skipped over in the juniors letter. I raised the question, they changed the subject.
This was the real reason I was seeking legal guidance and assistance. I replied to the juniors email on Wednesday morning pointing out my above concerns.
I decided later that Wednesday to go see my original POA solicitor and see if we could work things out. After a great deal of struggle, I managed to get an audience with him, and he agreed to assist me again. He told me that when he was made aware by his secretary that I was in his office foyer looking to speak with him, he had phone called the estate solicitor 'She' to find out the details of what was happening with the estate, as he believed the might be a conflict of interest. Evidently everything was okay. We sat in an office and verbally agreed to work together again. He said he would send me a Client care letter and a Terms of engagement letter. I told him he could email them to me. He asked did I still have the same address? I said Yes!
When Friday arrived, I still had not heard from him. I emailed him inquiring as to what was happening. He emailed me right back, informing me that the estate solicitor 'She' had contacted him on Thursday and had informed him that I had given another solicitor instructions. So that's why he hadn't sent any terms to me. I told him that I hadn't instructed anyone, and had merely sought advice from a solicitors on the Monday before meeting him, and was not happy with what they had offered in the way of a contractual agreement. I had signed nothing with anyone. I explained that the solicitor I had spoke with may of just been making an inquiry and that this inquiry was being mistaken for instructions.
He emailed me back saying "Wait for my letter . I am prepared to accept instructions again from you but I am not going into a competition on costs. My costs will depend on time involved and will be recorded and charged accordingly." It's now late Monday, and I have received nothing from him. My brother is chomping at the bit to push for me or my POA to be removed from the estate dealings and become the sole Administrator. And my former POA is fickle, and doesn't inform me if the is an issue. And I still have not gone into a binding agreement with him.

Di

[paddyhaig]

Re: If a solicitor claims they are going to send you a letter?

Yes, Diane thank you for your comment, it is to do with my earlier thread.

[Diana M]

Re: If a solicitor claims they are going to send you a letter?

Yes, Diane thank you for your comment, it is to do with my earlier thread.

I haven't read your other thread but I saw that post and could sense your frustration.

You've instructed and fired two solicitors which is your right if you feel things weren't working out for you.

You've now gone back to those solicitors to see if a new working relationship can be established. From what you say they appear to be willing to take on your case again, but you don't feel things have got off to a good start.

Maybe you need a fresh pair of eyes to take an overview of your legal problem if you've lost confidence in the previous legal advisers?

Why not click on the LB Compare link and phone around a few of the suggested firms who may be able to give you a fixed fee for carrying out the work or a firm where you feel comfortable with the person you'll be instructing after your initial chat.

LB Compare > http://lbcompare.co.uk/

Di

[paddyhaig]

Re: If a solicitor claims they are going to send you a letter?

The reason for going back to the first solicitor is that he had initialy been made my 'Power Of Attorney' in leiu of my presence as I was living abroad. His name is on the 'Grant of administration' and on all the paperwork, and client care account, and stocks and bonds, and to sign off on property transfers. In order to remove him compleatly now seems like a significant task. My second solicitor went into an agreement with my first solicitor that he would be kept in the loop specifically just to sign off on associated paperwork. However when I had to release my second solicitor that agreement went with her. I had to come back to the UK, work out agreements with my brother personally. Then suck-up the ill feeling of going cap in hand to the first solicitor to see if I could bring him back in the loop personaly. This he's seemingly agreeable to. Purely to sign off on paperwork. This is where matters stand at the moment.

[paddyhaig]

Re: If a solicitor claims they are going to send you a letter?

Diana M. It would seem that whilst I was visiting solicitors offices looking to find a solicitor in person that might fit. One of those solicitors seem to of run with the opportunity, and has taken advantage of it. I did not go into any legally binding agreement with these solicitors, no 'Client Care letter' or 'Terms of Servicec agreement, however they have seemingly seen fit to bill me for my inquiries and theirs to the other legal entities involved in my matters. I didn't ask them to do this, they did it of their own accord. I gave them no instructions! However they have now presented me with a bill by mail for £400. That seemingly needs to be paid in 14 days.