Solicitor Duties & Responsibilities
The role and function of a Solicitor includes the following duties and responsibilities:
- Acting on behalf of clients in disputes and representing them in court, if necessary;
- Instructing barristers or specialist advocates to appear in court for the client in complex disputes;
- Giving legal advice
- Taking a client’s instructions;
- Advising a client on the law and legal issues relating to their case;
- Liaising with other professionals such as barristers
- Representing clients in court.
- Writing legal documents
- Checking all documentation prior to signing and implementing;
- Calculating claims for damages, compensation, maintenance, etc;
- Preparing papers for court;
- Attending meetings and negotiations with opposing parties;
- Working in a team, sometimes referring cases to the head of department;
- Supervising and delegating work to trainee solicitors, paralegals and legal secretaries as appropriate;
- Arranging and attending further client meetings where necessary to progress with the case and finalise documentation;
- Negotiating with clients and other professionals to secure agreed objectives;
- Researching and analysing documents and case law to ensure the accuracy of advice and procedure;
- Supervising the implementation of agreements;
- Keeping up to date with changes and developments in the law by reading journals and law reports;
- Meeting and interviewing clients to establish the firm’s suitability to provide the necessary advice and services, based on the firm’s specialism and likely cost;
- Corresponding with clients and opposing solicitors;
- Administrative duties, e.g. completing time sheets so that charges for work can be calculated and billing clients for work done on their behalf;
- Taking referrals from other firms of solicitors when a conflict of interest arises or if they have no specialist practitioner available;
- Drafting documents, letters and contracts tailored to the client’s individual needs;
- Undertaking a range of continuing professional development (CPD) activities.
- Coordinating the work of all parties involved;
Note that this is not an exhaustive list of Solicitor duties and responsibilities. Job functions for specific Solicitor roles may vary, depending on the industry and type of employer.
