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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Would you be happy to deal with me?

91 replies

tartanbunnet · 08/04/2018 12:22

This is not really an AIBU just interested in views. I am a conveyancing paralegal - have been for many years and did the qualification at Uni, although to be fair it wasn't that useful as I knew most of the stuff already. I live in Scotland and due to recent legislation changes the job seems to be getting harder and harder, however, I am up to speed with all this and if I am not sure of anything I always ask my boss or I get him to phone clients. I am very good at my job (not a boast) and my boss has told me that I'm actually better than an awful lot of solicitors. I see transactions through from beginning to end with minimal supervisions and always do my best. My question is, would you be happy to deal with me or would you prefer always to speak to a solicitor. I basically got shouted at by a client the other day before things were not going the way he wanted (nothing to do with me and in actual fact I managed to sort the issue by doing the other solicitor's work from him and resolved the issue. No thanks for client and he was unwilling to speak to me and only wanted to speak to his lawyer, which I kind of understand but I basically got accused of messing about and holding things up (not true) and have kept him up to date all always and told him I wasn't sure thing could be resolved if the other solicitor didn't pull him finger out. Thoughts would be appreciated.

OP posts:
JacquesHammer · 08/04/2018 12:52

In answer to your question OP I would be happy to see you.

mogonfoxnight · 08/04/2018 12:53

You get experienced paralegals with their own files doing property deals in large law firms if they are good. I am not sure how they sign off letters. There used to be a way of qualifying as a solicitor on the job, in stages, I assume you still can, you could do that if you wanted?

WeAllHaveWings · 08/04/2018 12:54

If I was paying solicitor rates I would expect the solicitor to be doing the work and conversing with me with support from his back office as he saw fit. I wouldn't expected to deal with his office staff unless it was an area they are qualified in and I was paying a cheaper than solicitor rates.

mogonfoxnight · 08/04/2018 12:56

Our posts crossed.

mydogisthebest · 08/04/2018 12:56

I would be happy to deal with you. Having worked as a legal secretary for almost 30 years I know that a lot of paralegals seem to have more knowledge than some solicitors and also a lot more common sense.

I bought a house last year and mainly dealt with a paralegal. She was good and quick to answer my emails/sort things out whereas the solicitor was pretty useless

DanceDisaster · 08/04/2018 12:56

I’ve got a paralegal qualification throughout CLT Scotland, so I know a teensy bit about it. Sadly I had to move to England before I finished the qualification, so never actually got to use it, but hey ho.

I think for me it would depend on what the issue was. If it was looking over paperwork and drafting letters from my employer so that I could take voluntary redundancy, then I’d be completely happy to only see a paralegal. If it was anything criminal, going over the finer points of a complicated will or a messy divorce, then I’d want to speak to a solicitor tbh.

MissMary0fSweden · 08/04/2018 12:57

I think if everything is progressing as it should I don't really care who is doing the legwork tbh.

If I had an issue though and I'm paying solicitors rates, I want to speak to the solicitor. And if, as per your example, the solicitor tells me exactly the same as you did then so be it- at least they're earning their money.

DanceDisaster · 08/04/2018 12:57

*to my employer obviously

Pocketmonster · 08/04/2018 12:57

For the pp who ’ won’t be fobbed off with people in training.’ aren’t you a treat? Did you emerge into the world as a fully qualified and experienced professional? A supervised trainee is often for more invested in producing good work than a bored but qualified individual.

😂 👍

Original poster
tartanbunnet · 08/04/2018 12:57

Dietsmakemeangry to be fair in this particular case I knew it was going to be a struggle to get things settled because of the solicitor on the other side who basically cocked up things and did not do his job property. I have no issues with people asking to speak to their solicitor - I think that is absolutely fair enough - but there are ways and means of saying things. I had kept the guy informed on a daily basis - usually several e-mails and phone calls and I had warned him that there might be a delay in settling. The thing was he had e-mailed me the night before to say thank you for keeping him up to date and that he had confidence that i would do everything I could to resolve the issue.

OP posts:
Allergictoironing · 08/04/2018 12:58

I know what you mean. I'm a financial paraplanner and was also my previous boss's assistant. I wouldn't & couldn't give advice to clients of course, but the vast majority of them had no issues with me getting the advice from my boss & passing it on, and a fair number would automatically call me rather than him for information as they knew I would have it at my fingertips.

But we'd get the odd few who just wouldn't consider talking to me, even if it was just them wanting their current valuations, or how much ISA allowance they had left that year. There was loads of info like that which my boss would have to ask me for especially if he was out of the office (3/4 of the time), but they would only take it from him.

With some people it was a case of assuming that an administrator/ pa/ paraplanner (I did all 3 roles) just couldn't have the ability, and in other cases it was definitely that they felt they were FAR too important to speak to a mere minion and deserved the attention of the big boss.

TERFousBreakdown · 08/04/2018 13:00

Some of the very best people I've had the pleasure of working with were either junior colleagues or didn't come with any formal qualifications on their subject area. So I'd be more than happy to deal with you if you're as good as you say you are.

I wouldn't be expecting to pay a standard solicitor's bill rate, though, as there will be some issues that will require someone with the approved paper work, though.

Having said that, as someone who regularly writes offers for professional services, I'm under absolutely no illusion regarding the sometimes rather questionable relationship between bill rates and value provided by any given resource.

lazarusb · 08/04/2018 13:00

I'm a legal assistant and have two law degrees. I carry my own caseload and effectively work as a solicitor. My hourly rate is lower and that's what my clients are charged. I have never had a client complain that they didn't want to deal with me. In most firms I suspect work charged at a solicitor's rate is actually done by paralegals or legal assistants. I think the client should be charged honestly for the work done by you but that's your firm's decision.

Original poster
tartanbunnet · 08/04/2018 13:01

mogonfoxnight I don't really think that's an option now.

OP posts:
lazarusb · 08/04/2018 13:01

I have instructed a paralegal in the past by the way and would be happy to instruct you but would expect to pay for your hourly rate, not the solicitor's.

Bluntness100 · 08/04/2018 13:03

It really depends. I'd happily talk to you on some things ie an update, but if I'm paying for a solicitor then I would wish them to speak to me, on other issues or questions I had, it doesn't mean you're not capable of what you do, but in your own words you need to have everything checked, as such, that should also include verbal advice.

I'm sure you are very good at your job, but becoming a qualified solicitor is a long and arduous process, so I think saying your just as good as them is maybe blowing your own trumpet a little too loudly, especially when admitting everything you do needs to be checked by an actual solicitor.

If you want to be a solicitor, have you looked at the options available to you?

Original poster
tartanbunnet · 08/04/2018 13:05

lazarusb to be fair if the solicitor had to do all the legwork the fees would be considerably higher - we don't bill by the hour or anything and if a case turns out to be far more complicated than anticipate they still don't get charged any more - mainly because if I can get things sorted with minimal supervision the solicitor can get on with other work. Quite a few clients have sussed that it is me sending out the correspondence and doing the work because when they phone to speak to me I always know exactly what is going on because I've typed all my own letters!

OP posts:
Original poster
tartanbunnet · 08/04/2018 13:07

Bluntness100 I've never said I am just as good as a solicitor or as qualified - it was my boss that said I was better than most solicitors he deals with. I am not blowing my own trumpet - I only do conveyancing whereas the solicitors all do other sorts of work as well. In actual fact one of the other solicitors always comes to me to ask for advice about transactions so I can't be that bad.

OP posts:
HeadingForSunshine · 08/04/2018 13:08

Our solicitors are a medium sized suburban London firm. Very well respected. We have bought and sold some high value properties in recent years. When we engage them for work we are provided with the rates and the work is done expertly by a very experienced paralegal. I think the last bill was £6k. What's the point of speaking to a partner if they don't have first hand knowledge of the ins and outs of a case?

No problem at all.

What irritates me is when the Dr asks me to make and apt with the nurse and I do that at reception, wait four weeks, take half a morning off work and it turns out to be an HCA who can't do the test and there are no nurses on duty to help. That's what I call misrepresentation.

Original poster
tartanbunnet · 08/04/2018 13:12

Just to be a bit contentious here - so you think male paralegals would be treated with more respect? We had a boy in work answering the phone and the vast majority assumed he was a solicitor when in fact he was a telephonist!

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 08/04/2018 13:17

No i don't think it a gender related. Sometimes you want to speak to your solicitor. Especially if something's pissing uou off. You don't want to speak to their paralegal, Male or female, you want the boss.

I do actually wonder if you've a bit of a chip on your shoulder actually about not being a solicitor or treated like one?

Fatandfrigid · 08/04/2018 13:20

The last time I bought a house in Scotland I didn’t clap eyes on the solicitor once!
The secretary did all the work.

Same with an estate for which I was the executor.

Can you do conveyancing and stuff yourself ?

I’m afraid I have a very negative view of solicitors ( based on experience ) and yes would love to deal with a competent paralegal instead !

Mumoftwoyoungkids · 08/04/2018 13:21

If I’m paying £x then I don’t care who does the work as long as it gets done. Although I’d be very annoyed if something went wrong and it turned out that I’d had someone unqualified and they had cocked up as a result.

If I am paying by the hour then I expect the hourly fee to be representative of the person charging. If I was being charged solicitors’ rates then I expect a fully qualified solicitor.

DanceDisaster · 08/04/2018 13:21

Could it be that he just wasn’t happy things hadn’t gone his way and he was lashing out? If the solicitor had been there, then maybe he’d have lashed out at him / her. And you’re right to wonder imo; I think some men would definitely treat a male paralegal differently. Who can say if that was the case with this man though?

Fatandfrigid · 08/04/2018 13:23

And I soon realised when sorting out the Estate that I got immediate replies if I emailed his secretary , but none if I emailed the solicitor.