It is increasingly common for dissatisfied clients to change solicitors \u2013 especially in personal injury claims. We often take over cases for people who are fed up of the lawyers they first instructed, particularly if they were recommended to them by their own house or car insurers.<\/p>\n
The reasons we commonly hear include lack of communication, general delays, speaking to a different person every time you call, poorly-written emails and dissatisfaction with the advice given.<\/p>\n
It is a client\u2019s right to change solicitors, but, in injury claim cases there may be a financial downside, depending how the case is funded.<\/p>\n
If your case is paid for by legal expenses insurance \u2013 normally purchased with house contents or motor insurance \u2013 most insurers will agree to instruct a new solicitor (subject to their terms and conditions) without it costing you a penny, certainly once court proceedings have started.<\/p>\n
A few insurers will not indemnify you in respect of legal fees if you transfer solicitors outside the legal expenses system before court proceedings start. Your insurance will always cover the work your old solicitor has done, but not any other work before the issue of Court proceedings. However, your preferred solicitor may be able to persuade the insurers to continue to support you or enter into a new funding agreement with you so that you still don\u2019t pay any legal fees after the file is transferred.<\/p>\n
The situation is more complicated if you have a conditional fee agreement. Your solicitor can either send you a bill, which you must pay before the file is transferred, or, if they still think your case is likely to win, they can elect not to send a bill and collect their success fee if and when you win compensation. In our experience, most firms will choose the latter option.<\/p>\n
If your case is funded by a trade union, there is nothing to stop you transferring to a new firm, but you will normally not be able to take the cover provided by the union with you.<\/p>\n
These are general guidelines and only apply to personal injury cases, although as insurers constantly try to divert potential clients to firms in Cardiff, Liverpool, Leeds and elsewhere, we find that more and more people from Sheffield are looking to instruct solicitors of their own choice.<\/p>\n
Our advice to anyone dissatisfied is to firstly contact the firm they would prefer to instruct and discuss it with them. Such meetings are normally free of charge and often lead to a quicker and better outcome to the claim than if the client had stayed with the original solicitors.<\/p>\n