Report comment

Jonathan Massey,

"Solicitor" is sometimes used as a catch all for someone who offers legal advice. Even PACE and the codes of practice refer to probationary and accredited reps as "solicitors" throughout.

I'm an accredited rep and many clients who know me and my status very well call me their solicitor. My business card says I'm an accredited rep and I make a point of telling clients who don't know me my status. The police also know my status and again call me a solicitor.

I don't think a lot of clients care who is offering the advice so long as it's correct.

In fact, out of everyone I've advised I've only had one person take issue with my status and that was because he asked for advice from the duty solicitor and got a rep. He said if he had realised he wouldn't be guaranteed to get a solicitor he would have paid privately for one. As it happened he had no issue with me continuing to represent him; his issue was that he had been denied the opportunity to make an informed choice because he believed it would be a solicitor attending to represent him.

Also the same applies when clients ring up asking to speak to their 'family solicitor' or 'conveyancing solicitor' when in fact both of those people are legal executives.

I think you are assuming that people actually care about the status of the person advising them when they may in fact just be using 'solicitor' as a catch all.

Cheers