Solicitor Career Change

randomchild

Hi guys, I am a practising solicitor who is getting out of the profession and wont be applying for a practicing certificate for next year. As per the norm, the law society's information regarding the consequences of this are woefully inadequate, mainly pointing to sole practitioners winding up their practice. After much digging on their website I figured out I have to notify them of my decision and that's about it.

Can anyone who has also left the profession (or otherwise) point me in the direction of any advice regarding what I am permitted/not allowed to do regarding the provision of legal advice (i.e. can I provide advice on GDPR law to a friend? Can I charge for this service? What if they are out of the jurisdcition and it pertains only to EU law and not the data protection act?).

Thanks in advance (and thanks to this forum, never would have got through the FE-1s without you!)

December2012

Would you be able to speak with Keith OMalley in the Career Support services? He gave a friend of mine great help a few years ago when she was redundant and looking for alternative career advice.

The Law Society take a dim enough view of solicitors continuing to offer legal advice if they are no longer on the roll, ime. A State institution had to go to the High Court to have practising certs retrospectively issue (iirc) when it was noted a number of former solicitors working for them didn't have them. The solicitors in question where acting wholly internally but it was felt it was better to have certs just in case it became an issue.

There has been a growth in quasi-legal services like compliance etc which occupy a grey area but I know of one former colleague who wanted to rejoin the roll after a period of quasi-legal work during the last recession had to submit a statement outlining why the work he had been doing didn't constitute providing legal advice. I am always surprised the Law Society don't take a firmer line on such quasi-legal positions, since it's encroaching on what should be their area of expertise.

I suppose if you don't intend to rejoin the profession at the any point in the future you are unlikely to come to the Law Society's attention but if you do there can be criminal sanctions for continuing to offer legal advice in the absence of a cert (again, afaik).

I hope you are going on to bigger and better things, law is an increasingly unpleasant career to work in day to day.

listermint

odd one but an example of similar would be quasi electrical advice. e.g a facilities manager who used to be a qualified electrician under RECI. moves careers and then advices the building management on what they need to do and when. At which point they then call in professionals to do the work. Or dont call in the professionals if entirely uncessary.

Should RECI come after the facilities manager?


Same for a compliance manager role, if they had legal background their guidance would be expected as part of the role up to a point where that manager issues advice to get outside services.

Why should the Bar be chasing down such circumstance. Its not Quasi Legal, its experienced opinion.

listermint

listermint wrote: »

odd one but an example of similar would be quasi electrical advice. e.g a facilities manager who used to be a qualified electrician under RECI. moves careers and then advices the building management on what they need to do and when. At which point they then call in professionals to do the work. Or dont call in the professionals if entirely uncessary.

Should RECI come after the facilities manager?


Same for a compliance manager role, if they had legal background their guidance would be expected as part of the role up to a point where that manager issues advice to get outside services.

Why should the Bar be chasing down such circumstance. Its not Quasi Legal, its experienced opinion.

Fine line between "experienced opinion" and actual legal advice, imo. Even the advice to get external legal advice because in their opinion they have a legal issue to resolve could, in itself, be legal advice depending on how it is set out.

listermint

Deleted User wrote: »

Fine line between "experienced opinion" and actual legal advice, imo. Even the advice to get external legal advice because in their opinion they have a legal issue to resolve could, in itself, be legal advice depending on how it is set out.

So your saying the opinion to go and get legal advice in itself is legal advice.

Excellent, i suppose we will have to shut down this forum so ... :rolleyes:

listermint

listermint wrote: »

So your saying the opinion to go and get legal advice in itself is legal advice.

Excellent, i suppose we will have to shut down this forum so ... :rolleyes:

Depending on who gives it and in what context, sure. A solicitor is trained beyond what a layperson is. If they are being employed for their opinion on legal matters (and advice on compliance with laws is a legal matter, imo) then of course it's legal advice. I don't think your electrician analogy is comparable, in this instance. If the electrician was fixing the electrics himself you would no doubt agree he should be part of RECI, likewise a person providing advice should be part of the professional body who oversees that area.

It depends on the circumstance but part of the reason we can't provide legal advice on here is because of the professional restrictions imposed on solicitors.

How would you distinguish between "experienced opinion" and legal advice, btw?

Lenar3556

listermint wrote: »

odd one but an example of similar would be quasi electrical advice. e.g a facilities manager who used to be a qualified electrician under RECI. moves careers and then advices the building management on what they need to do and when. At which point they then call in professionals to do the work. Or dont call in the professionals if entirely uncessary.

Should RECI come after the facilities manager?


Same for a compliance manager role, if they had legal background their guidance would be expected as part of the role up to a point where that manager issues advice to get outside services.

Why should the Bar be chasing down such circumstance. Its not Quasi Legal, its experienced opinion.

That wouldn’t really be a fair comparison. The facilities manager you describe remains a qualified electrician and can quite legitimately provide advice and indeed carry out the electrical work itself if he is equipped to do so in a commercial type installation. He doesn’t actually need to be a member of RECI in this instance.

The same isn’t true of a solicitor in similar circumstances. I would think carefully of the planned future career/employment path before making any final decision.

randomchild

Cheers for the answers guys! I do know from experience with this before that the law societys attitude is generally we will decide after you do anything if its legal advice or not, which is quite infuriating to say the least! I understand its not in their interest to be clear about this (or a raft of other topics lets be honest).

davindub

From memory, the Law Society have a document that brings together the solicitors act, legal services act and some of the societies regs for practicing / non practising solicitors.

It should help you understand what is classified legal advice and what is not, but as far as I remember if there is no gain or reward from giving the advice, it is not prohibited.

That being said, presumably you will want to stop paying indemnity insurance at some point, hence a clean break might be more suitable.