Solicitor or barrister? Choosing legal help in England and Wales

England and Wales have a split legal profession, and the vocabulary can be confusing when you need help quickly. This guide covers who does what, how to check that the person you are talking to is regulated, and what to do if things go wrong.

Solicitors and barristers

For most people, the first point of contact is a solicitor. Solicitors advise clients directly, run the case from start to finish, write the letters, prepare the documents and deal with the other side. They work in firms of every size, from sole practitioners on the high street to large city firms, and many focus on particular areas such as family, employment or property.

A barrister is a specialist in advocacy and in written legal opinions. Traditionally a solicitor brings in a barrister when a case needs representation at a hearing or an expert view on a difficult point. Barristers usually work as self-employed members of chambers.

You can also go to a barrister directly, without a solicitor, through what is called public access (or direct access). According to the Bar Standards Board, only barristers authorised to work with the public can take instructions this way, and you can find them through the Bar Council's Direct Access Portal. The Board also points out that if you choose a public access barrister, you cannot usually apply for legal aid. Public access can suit someone who is organised and wants advice or representation on a specific point, but you will often have to handle the paperwork yourself.

Check who you are dealing with

Solicitors and law firms in England and Wales are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The Solicitors Register lets you check whether someone is a solicitor, where they work, whether the SRA regulates a firm, and whether a firm has been closed down or a person prohibited from practising. Barristers can be checked on the Bar Standards Board's own register. If someone calls themselves a lawyer but does not appear on either, ask why before going further.

Fees and the client care letter

When you instruct a firm, you should receive written information about the work and its cost, usually in a client care letter and terms of business. The SRA's guidance expects firms to give the best possible information about costs at the outset — typically the basis of the charges (hourly rate or fixed fee), likely disbursements such as court fees, an estimate of the overall cost or of the next stage, and when you will be asked to pay. It also expects you to be told how to complain.

Read it before work starts. If the estimate is vague, ask for a figure for the next stage and ask to be told when that figure is likely to be exceeded. Many firms offer fixed fees for defined pieces of work.

If something goes wrong

Start with the firm. Every firm should have a complaints procedure, and the Legal Ombudsman says the provider has up to eight weeks to put things right.

If you are still unhappy after that, or the firm's final response does not resolve it, you can take the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, which deals with complaints about service and is free for consumers. There are time limits: generally within six months of the firm's final response, and within one year of the problem happening or of when you became aware of it. Concerns about professional misconduct, such as dishonesty or misuse of client money, go to the SRA rather than the Ombudsman.

Legal aid

Legal aid in England and Wales is now narrow. For civil matters, GOV.UK gives examples such as homelessness, eviction or losing your home, serious disrepair, domestic abuse, matters involving children's welfare, discrimination and asylum. You usually need to show that you cannot afford to pay and that the problem is serious. Use the online checker on GOV.UK to see whether your type of problem is covered. Criminal legal aid works differently, with its own rules if you have been arrested or charged.

If you are not eligible, consider whether you have legal expenses cover through home or car insurance, a union or a professional body, and whether a free first conversation with a firm will tell you enough to decide the next step.

This page is general information about how these matters usually work in England and Wales. It is not legal advice about your own case, and only a lawyer who has read your documents can give you that. Law firms near you, by speciality, can be found in the directory.