Do you have the right employment solicitor at your disposal?

When I first began practicing law, I got a complaint from a competitor who alerted me against referring to myself as an "expert." At the time I believed that her interests were conspicuously self-aligned, but many years later, I find myself making the same complaint about others. This is because the rules designed to safeguard individuals from lawyers' misleading advertising seldom achieve their purpose – especially in the field of workplace law, where lawyers market directly to the general public.

If you are going to hire one of the employment solicitors in London for legal issues at work, here are some factors to consider:

I get so many requests from people who want me to give them advice for free. But in law, just as in life, people get exactly what they pay for. If a lawyer advertises for a free consultation, it should raise red flags. Just last week I was asked to provide a second opinion to an individual following a complimentary session he had with another lawyer. The other lawyer took one quick look at his case and declared that it was a winner. The individual then paid a hefty fee to commence a legal action. But there was one glaring error. The individual had already signed a release against his ex-employer, meaning that he was legally prevented from suing. The first lawyer missed the problem completely during their initial free consultation, which does not surprise me because it was not much of a consultation at all. What's worse is that by the time the lawyer later discovered the problem, the individual had been billed twice the standard fee that most lawyers generally charge for an initial meeting. In other words, his "free" consultation ultimately cost him much more. If you want good advice, be prepared to pay for it – like everything else.

Assembly-line lawyers

These employment solicitors in London live by the 80-20 rule, except that it is inverted. They do 20 percent of the work and expect 80 percent of the profit. The biggest complaint I hear about them is that no matter how strong a case they have, they will invariably never go to trial, preferring to settle as many cases as possible as quickly as they can. Once this reputation is fully developed, company lawyers will never take them seriously, which is sadly reflected in the settlements they are then offered. Fortunately, they are easy to spot. Before hiring a workplace lawyer, ask him for his last five employment law court cases that were reported. If he can't produce them, go elsewhere.

Perfectionists

On the flip side are those employment solicitors in London who spend extraordinary amounts of time on just about everything. They are just as harmful. One, who used to work for me, would have complaints pile up from her clients because nothing would ever get done. In workplace law there is a premium on speed because, as a general rule, employees' cases do not get better over time, they get worse. Have your lawyer commit to a reasonable timetable and ensure that he or she sticks to it.

Sponsor Ads

• Ad Space Available - Rent it Now!

Report this Page

Created on Aug 23rd 2018 02:44. Viewed 255 times.

Share on APSense

Comments