Appeal to common sense
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Appeal to common sense
As widely reported the Court of Appeal has cleared the way to allow solicitors to offer clients flexible services. Known as “unbundling”, this allows clients to choose to use a solicitor in a limited way. This might be to save costs or simply because a client is perfectly capable of understanding and dealing with much of the legal process, requiring only assistance on specific points.
A possible barrier to this has been the thought that a solicitor offering unbundled services might be held not to have done the job properly. This has led to some lawyers declining to offer flexible services, for fear of being financially responsible for their clients’ own choices.
In Minkin v Lesley Landsberg (2015) EWCA Civ 1152 the Court of Appeal gave an important judgment which positively encourages the use of unbundled services, confirming that solicitors only have a duty to advise so far as the client wants and agrees. The extent of the solicitors role, limited or otherwise, can be set out and agreed at the beginning.
Paris Smith have always recognised that clients have a right to choose and have been offering flexible services for some years. Click on this link to view our Pay As You Go service.
Further and more detailed information can be obtained from the Law Society on this.
It benefits both the client and the lawyer to have a clear understanding of what is required at the outset. The client only pays for the required service and the lawyer is only responsible for the provision of that service and nothing more. What could be simpler or fairer?
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