Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

• What is difference between a solicitor and a barrister?

  The right of audience within UK courts typically define the differences between the professions. The Barrister generally is the only person allowed to address the court on behalf of the client. A Solicitor generally acts as a facilitator between the barrister and client, responsible for interview at first instance and the collation of evidence for a barrister to advise and act upon.

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• Why choose advice from a barrister over a solicitor?

  The Barrister is the legal professional who represents the views or wishes of a client to the court being specifically trained in amongst other disciplines advocacy, opinion writing and negotiation. As such the barrister will often write complex legal briefs outlining the legal position of a client prior to any court hearing.

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• Will I receive value for money?

  All Lawyers4U services (apart from the £25 Rapid Response Advice Service) equate to approximately less than one third the cost of the high street practice whilst guaranteeing at least comparable services in terms of quality and expertise. The official Judicial Review statistics for 2008 reveal the average cost for the services of a high street practitioner at £195.00 per hour.

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• Who will write my advice?

  All Lawyers4U responses are drafted by fully qualified barristers accredited to one of the four Inns of Court of England and Wales.

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• Can I feel secure my enquiry is strictly confidential?

  All Lawyers4U enquiries and client details are treated in the strictest confidence. Lawyers4U will not disseminate any private and confidential client information pertaining to their enquiry to any third party without the express permission of the client.

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• What if I need more than just advice?

  At Lawyers4U we recognise that in certain circumstances advice is but one aspect of a client's needs. Therefore at Lawyers4U we provide a comprehensive service where we will assist the client in every aspect of the legal process from issuing and defending claims to appearing in court. Please see our Self Representation or Family Law Services sections for more information.

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• Will I have a relationship with my advisor?

  Once your query has been processed for the attention of a barrister, that barrister will be assigned to all your enquiries for the duration of your relationship with Lawyers4U. In our experience this leads to a much more comfortable relationship for the client and therefore optimises our services to you.

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• What do I do when I arrive at Court?

  For those who choose to self represent or for those who simply require a simple judgement or order from the court, Lawyers4U can provide in depth advice including step by step instructions for your time at court.

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• I want to self represent but how do I avoid embarrassing myself?

  For those who wish to avail themselves of our Self Representation or Family Law Services services Lawyers4U will provide an in depth advice including step by step instructions for your time at court. We will also advise on court protocol, how and when you should address the court and anticipate and advise you on any likely questions that you may be asked.

  It should be noted however, that the majority of court hearings in the family or civil (county) courts simply require the drafting of legal and factual submissions for the judge to read and pass judgement upon. Please see our Self Representation or Family Law Services sections for further information.

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• Please explain the free quote offer?

  Quite simply, if you are unsure as to the cost or indeed the effort required in addressing your concerns simply click on our free quote tab (Self Representation & Family Law Services only), write a brief description of your circumstances and one of our advisors will contact you by email with advice and cost of any action proposed.

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Rapid Response Questions

• Can you guarantee a 24 hour response?

  Provided your question is submitted to us before 11:00AM we will respond before 11:00AM the following day. If we fail to respond in this time we will refund your payment.

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• How long before I receive my advice?

  Lawyers4U will guarantee a same day service for those enquiries submitted with cleared payment before 10 .30 am on the morning of enquiry. All others will be responded to within 3 working days although in practice 24 hours is the norm.

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• How will I receive my advice?

  Responses will be provided in a Microsoft Word document format and attached to our response email. If you have difficulty viewing the attachment please contact our support team.

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• Can I ask more than one question?

  As long as your questions are directly related to your enquiry - yes.

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• What if my query subject is not listed under Get Advice?

  Sometimes a client may not find a category or sub category that covers their enquiry. This is to be expected as the categories listed are for guidance only. Simply choose category Other and proceed as normal.

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• Can I send Lawyers4U copies of relevant documents?

  Sometimes it may be necessary to send copies of documents with your enquiry. If you have documents you feel are relevant to your question, please say so in your initial questions and we may request you forward copies of them to us. You can either scan the documents and attach them to email, or send them to our postal address.

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• How reliable is the advice?

  All Lawyers4U Rapid Response advice is drafted by fully qualified barristers utilising the most current research tools and reliant upon relevant statute. See Terms and Conditions for full details.

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• Can I contact Lawyers4U for clarification before requesting advice?

  Lawyers4u welcome enquiries regarding clarification of our services. Please use the contact form to request further information from our customer service team. Please note however, our customer service team are not trained to handle legal enquiries and can only offer advice and information pertaining to our service delivery.

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Self Representation & Drafting Questions

• Who can self represent?

  Anyone can choose to self represent in the courts.

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• When can I self represent?

  As stated above anyone can self represent, however most choose to self represent in the lower courts i.e. County, Civil or Family court. Most common areas of self representation are in matters of divorce, ancillary relief, property matters, CSA, money owed and small claims court (up to £5000)

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• Is self representation advisable?

  This will depend on the nature of the claim and how much evidence you have to back it up. In most County, Civil or Family applications the claimant or respondent has a written submission which is presented to the court for consideration. There is very little oral testimony. If you think you have a strong case in favour of your application or strong defence against a claim and feel confident enough to answer basic questions relating to your submission, self representation may be for you. Please review our Self Representation and Family Law Services advice sections for more information.

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• Can I take somebody with me to court to help?

  Upon request, the court may allow a second person (often with a degree of experience in the matter before the court) to accompany a claimant or respondent. These are known as Mackenzie Friends and although they have no right(s) to address the court directly on your behalf they can direct you on key points.

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• How much money will I save?

  The savings made by self representation can be quite significant. The average cost per hour for a high street practitioner as commented on by official judicial statistics is £195 per hour. However any decision to self represent must be balanced against the benefit of attending legal counsel in more complex cases.

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• How do I act when I arrive court?

  For those who choose to self represent or for those who simply require a simple judgement or order from the court, Lawyers4U can provide an in depth advice including step by step instructions for your time at court.

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• What do I say ?

  For those who wish to avail themselves of our Self Representation or Family Law Services, Lawyers4U will provide an in depth advice including step by step instructions for your time at court. We will also advise on court protocol, how and when you should address the court and advise you on any likely questions that you may be asked.

  It should be noted however, that the majority of court hearings in the family or civil (county) courts simply require the drafting of legal and factual submissions for the judge to read and pass judgement upon. Please see our Self Representation or Family Law Services sections for further information.

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• Will I have to argue my case with the other side ?

  As stated above the majority of cases in the lower courts are settled by both sides providing written submissions to the court for consideration. The judge will then hand down a ruling. There is very little oral testimony apart from swearing in and possibly a few questions from the judge for clarification.

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• What is Drafting?

  Drafting is the preparation and drawing up of legal and factual documentation necessary for any court appearance. It can also encompass the drawing up of legally binding contracts and agreements as well as Trust Instruments. See our Self Representation & Drafting service for more information.

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• Can I contact Lawyers4U for further information about Self Representation?

  Lawyers4U welcome enquiries regarding clarification of our services. Please use the contact form to request further information from our customer service team. Please note however, our customer service team are not trained to handle legal enquiries and can only offer advice and information pertaining to our service delivery.

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Family Law Service Questions

• What is are Family Law Services?

  The Family Law Service is specifically designed to help those with issues regarding relationships, be they be marriage, civil partnerships or co-habitees. The Family Law Service will also offer practical aid to those who wish to clarify issues regarding children.

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• Why should I use the Family Law Service?

  All our family law practitioners are legal professionals with a wealth of experience in all areas of family law. It has been often found that the single most affecting reason why persons will not seek remedy from the courts in family matters is the prohibitive cost of legal representation (often legal aid is unavailable) Lawyers4U aim to redress this.

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• My concerns are very serious, can I rely on the Family Law Service?

  Lawyers4U has a stated aim - to become the first choice for legal representation outside the high street. To that end our standards and level of expertise in family law issues at least matches any high street competitor, albeit at a fraction of the cost.

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• How does it work?

  Once Lawyers4U have received your initial enquiry and discussed with you how you may wish to proceed and what your options are we will engage with you in a dialogue (this may take the form of an online questionnaire or personal email) to ensure we have all the relevant information to take your case forward.

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• What about court applications and orders?

  Once we have all the relevant information pertaining to your circumstances, we will upon instruction issue proceedings in the relevant court on your behalf. This may take the form of a specific application i.e. divorce or ancillary relief or a request for a specific children`s order i.e. visitation rights. Although Lawyers4U will draft all the necessary legal documentation for your application or (sought) order, you as the applicant or claimant will be required to attend the hearing.

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• What happens when I arrive at court?

  For those who wish to avail themselves of our Self Representation or Family Law Clinic services Lawyers4U will provide an in depth advice including step by step instructions for your time at court. We will also advise on court protocol, how and when you should address the court and anticipate and advise you on any likely questions that you may be asked. It should be noted however, that the majority of court hearings in the family or civil (county) courts simply require the drafting of legal and factual submissions for the judge to read and pass judgement upon. Please see our Self Representation and Family Law Clinic pages for further information.

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• How legally binding are any agreements drafted by the Family Law Service?

  All our legal drafts, once signed and witnessed are legally binding upon the signing parties i.e. Deeds of Trust or Separation.

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• Is the service confidential?

  All Lawyers4U enquiries and client details are treated in the strictest confidence. Lawyers4U will not disseminate any private and confidential client information pertaining to their enquiry to any third party without the express permission of the client.

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• How much will it cost?

  Our Family Law Services start from as little as £79.00 a huge saving on the equivalent high street tariffs.

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• How do I get more information?

  For more information you can either request a free quote from within the Family Law Service section of the website, or use the contact form to request further information from our customer service team. Please note however, our customer service team are not trained to handle legal enquiries and can only offer advice and information pertaining to our service delivery.

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Technical & Payment Questions

• Are my payment details secure?

  Payment is handled by our payment processor PayPal UK. During the payment process, personal details and credit card information are handled by PayPal's secure website - all data is encrypted, and is therefore completely secure.

  

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• Do I get a receipt of payment?

  If you pay via PayPal UK during the Rapid Response payment process you will receive a receipt of payment directly from PayPal, along with a confirmation email from Lawyers4U. If an alternative payment method is used you will receive a receipt direct from Lawyers4U.

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