Solicitor meaning

A meeting with your line manager on your first day Setting up a meeting with your line manager on day one of your new role is strongly advisable. Although it will most likely be an initial ‘getting to know you’ chat, there are several questions you can raise to help you feel more at ease in the position. If you are the only in-house lawyer or leading an internal legal team, your line manager will typically be the CEO or Finance Director, though it could be any other director. If you are joining an existing team, your line manager may sit in a legal, regulatory or compliance function, for example: Company Secretary General Counsel Senior Solicitor Legal Director Compliance Director Alternatively, they may hold a non-legal post, such as Finance Director or CEO. In a larger team with multiple layers in the reporting structure, your line manager could be someone else within that hierarchy. This Checklist highlights the key...

This flowchart sets out the steps to be taken on an application for a reporting restriction order under the Family Procedure Rules 2010, PD 12I (Applications for reporting restriction orders) and the Practice Note (Official Solicitor: Deputy Director of Legal Services: Cafcass: Applications for reporting restriction orders), also known as the Cafcass Practice Note. For comprehensive, practical guidance on each stage shown and on transparency in the family courts—covering overviews, Practice Notes, precedents, procedural guides, client guides, legislation, forms and further reading—see: Media access and transparency—overview, or select the related documents listed on the right-hand side of the flowchart. For focused guidance on reporting restriction orders, consult the following Practice Notes: Reporting restriction orders—procedure Reporting restriction orders and notifying the media For information about providing advance notice to the media of a reporting restriction order application, refer to: Giving advance notice to the media of a reporting restriction order application—flowchart. For the full collection of Lexis+® UK flowcharts spanning numerous...

General checklist What follows is a checklist highlighting matters that a solicitor representing a company’s administrator (and, in some pre-appointment cases, the directors/company) disposing of a business and its assets ought to bear in mind when preparing a sale and purchase agreement (the Agreement). This checklist is suitable for both pre-pack scenarios and sales of the business and/or assets completed after administrators are in office. It is not comprehensive and, depending on the nature of the business, numerous additional points may arise. For further detail, see: Sale and Purchase of Assets—overview and Pre-packs—overview. We also, at points, refer to seeking information from the directors. That will not invariably be feasible, eg where the situation is hostile. Accordingly, if the directors are engaged, they should be able to provide the information and will often be best placed to do so; however, where the position is hostile, or if you act solely for the administrators, any enquiries should be directed to the administrators, or at least channelled via them to the...

Checklist This Checklist applies when acquiring a long leasehold interest carrying a capital value, rather than a shorter tenancy at an open market rent, which is unlikely to attract any capital value. A purchaser’s solicitor should examine the landlord’s right to forfeit the lease, as in some situations particular forfeiture clauses can render a lease unacceptable as security to a lender and, in turn, unsuitable for purchase. Could the landlord exercise forfeiture upon the tenant’s insolvency? Where the landlord holds a right to forfeit on a tenant insolvency event, the property will not be acceptable security to a lender and is therefore inappropriate as an investment acquisition. Consequently, such a lease is neither appropriate for lending purposes nor for any purchase...

Checklist This checklist explores the actions a buyer’s solicitor ought to take during due diligence to deal with matters arising from the property’s physical state and the surveyor’s findings, as part of the investigation. Although this Checklist refers to the buyer’s solicitor, equivalent considerations apply to a tenant’s solicitor acting on the grant of a new lease, and to a borrower’s solicitor involved in the financing or refinancing of property. A solicitor is not qualified to advise on the state or the value of a property, and the report on title prepared for the buyer by the buyer’s solicitor should include a qualification to that effect. If the survey or valuation identifies any issues with the property, the buyer may wish to negotiate a reduction in the price or to include an obligation in the contract requiring the seller to remedy the matter prior to completion. Has the buyer’s solicitor advised the buyer to commission a survey? A buyer’s solicitor should always advise the buyer to have the property...

In this issue: Key DR developments Claims and remedies Costs and funding Cross-border disputes Injunctions Civil appeals New content Dates for your diary Useful information Daily and weekly news alerts Key DR developments CPR updates 174th Practice Direction update effective 5 November 2024: The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have authorised the 174th Practice Direction (PD) update to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). The changes take effect at 11am on 5 November 2024. This PD update amends CPR PD 51ZE (Small Claims Track Automatic Referral to Mediation Pilot Scheme) and CPR PD 51R (Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) Pilot Scheme), expanding the obligation to engage in integrated mediation in civil matters to money claims submitted via the OCMC service. For more information, see: LNB News 22/10/2024 127—174th Practice Direction update—in force 5 November 2024. Court guidance Damages Claims Pilot under CPR PD 51ZB—updated guidance:...

In this issue Key DR developments Claims and remedies Costs and funding Litigation Applications—general Evidence and disclosure Appeals New content Dates for your diary Useful information Daily and weekly news alerts Key DR developments CPR Committee minutes Minutes of the CPR Committee meeting—6 June 2025: The Civil Procedure Rule Committee met on 6 June 2025 in a hybrid session at The Rolls Building (Royal Courts of Justice) and via video conference. The minutes confirm a forthcoming CPR 51 pilot enabling non-parties to obtain court documents, arising from the Supreme Court ruling in Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd v Dring [2019] UKSC 38. They also record approved amendments to the e‑working pilot, progressing towards a permanent electronic filing system as part of ongoing court modernisation. Further topics included summary assessment of costs, arbitration updates, disclosure, civil restraint orders, closed material procedures, judicial review reforms for infrastructure projects, whiplash reforms, digital services and other procedural...

Sriram (acting by her litigation friend, the Official Solicitor) v Revenue and Customs Commissioners and another [2024] EWHC 853 (Ch), [2024] All ER (D) 86 (Apr) What are the practical implications of this case? Creditors should act with care to ensure that service of a statutory demand (and bankruptcy petition) is properly effected, particularly where a debtor seeks to avoid service and has several addresses. Attempts to serve ought to be clearly and contemporaneously recorded. Creditors are required to take all reasonable measures to bring the document or documents to the debtor’s attention. However, this does not oblige them to attend or write to every address associated with the debtor that they know about. The addresses that must be tried will depend on the circumstances of the individual case. A wide, scattergun strategy to service is not expected. By way of example, if a debtor holds multiple properties and there is no reply to a visit or correspondence at one property, that location may not amount to a ‘known’...

This Practice Note sets out the particular rules governing VAT on costs that fall to be the subject of either summary or detailed assessment before the High Court. The applicable provisions are contained in CPR PD 44. Entitlement to This is addressed at CPR PD 44, para 2.3 through to CPR PD 44, para 2.6. The party seeking recovery of costs bears responsibility for ensuring that VAT is claimed only if, and only to the extent that, it cannot recover from HMRC the VAT it has incurred (CPR PD 44, para 2.4). if the VAT is recoverable from HMRC, it should not be included in a claim for costs if only a proportion of the VAT is recoverable from HMRC, include only that proportion which is not recoverable from HMRC in the claim for costs The legal adviser’s VAT registration number must appear in a prominent position at the head of every statement, bill of costs, fee sheet, account or voucher...

The SRA Standards and Regulations allow law firms and legal service providers to organise their businesses in several formats, depending on whether they deliver reserved legal activities. Options comprise: a single SRA-regulated entity delivering both reserved and non‑reserved services an SRA‑regulated entity delivering reserved legal services, with some or all non‑reserved work carried out by a separate, non‑SRA regulated business (which, importantly, may employ SRA‑regulated solicitors) a non‑SRA regulated entity supplying only non‑reserved legal services, employing SRA‑regulated solicitors a freelance solicitor—see Practice Note: Dealing with freelance solicitors This Practice Note offers guidance to law firms on running a separate business, including allocating parts of a client matter between the law firm and the separate business, which will entail unbundling legal services. It reflects the Legal Services Act 2007 (LSA 2007) and the SRA Standards and Regulations, together with separate business guidance issued by the SRA. Unless stated otherwise, references in the Practice Note to: ‘solicitor’ includes Registered European...

Corporate deals call for a sizeable group of lawyers across multiple disciplines, alongside other expert professional advisers, all required to collaborate closely, frequently against very tight deadlines and schedules. Where property assets feature in the deal, property solicitors and related specialists become a vital and integral element of the overall exercise. This Practice Note explains how a property solicitor can handle correspondence and documentation efficiently within corporate transactions. Before commencing transaction—initial considerations Before the property solicitor begins work on the matter they should confirm at the outset: which party they are representing...

INSOLVENCY ACT APPLICATION NOTICE Case No: [ insert case number ]. Court: High Court (Business and Property Courts, Insolvency and Companies List (ChD)) OR Business and Property Courts in [ insert location ] OR County Court at [ insert location ] (Business and Property Work). In the matter of [ insert company’s name ] and the Insolvency Act 1986. Parties: [ Insert Applicant(s) ] v [ Insert Respondent(s) ]. Under IR 2016 r 18.23. Parties and addresses: Applicants [ names/addresses ]; Respondents [ names/addresses ]. Application relates to [ details ]. Judge: [ level ]. Venue: [ court/hearing centre ]. Ref: [ number ]. Orders sought: Fix remuneration at £[ insert sum ] plus VAT; disbursements £[ insert sum ]. Costs to be an expense of the [ liquidation/administration ]. Any further order or relief the court considers appropriate. Grounds: witness statement of [ name ], dated [ date ]. Service/notice: [ names/addresses, if any, or none ]. Address for...

This document offers general guidance on divorce procedure. Your family solicitor can provide advice tailored to your circumstances. Specific advice will depend on your circumstances, and your family solicitor can provide this. No fault divorce The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA 2020) substantially reshaped divorce law, aiming to lower acrimony by bringing in the commonly called ‘no fault divorce’. The legislation removes the need to attribute fault when initiating proceedings, rather than apportion blame at the outset. It entirely dispenses with attributing blame at the commencement of divorce proceedings. Historically, to obtain a divorce in England and Wales, the applicant had to demonstrate that the marriage had irretrievably broken down, which required proving one of five facts. Three rested on fault—adultery, unreasonable behaviour, and desertion—while two depended on a qualifying period of separation: two years with consent, or five years without consent...

The purpose of the claim form A claim form initiates proceedings. It sets out information relevant to the case, including: the court reference number to be used on all subsequent court documents; the parties to the proceedings; what is being claimed; particulars of the claim (including any claim for interest); and contact details for the claimant, typically the claimant’s solicitor. Guidance on the contents of a claim form in general is available in the Practice Note: Claim form—the contents. This Precedent includes suggested text for use where the claim concerns trade mark infringement and/or passing off. The form provides direction on the particular points that should be considered when completing a claim form for use in such proceedings. The attached N1 claim form is provided as an example only. We recommend that practitioners download the latest N1 claim form in PDF from the official source for submission, and use the attached version solely as an aid to completing it....

If a business claims to hire and remunerate an individual with a wage to reduce the tax burden of the business itself or a director/shareholder, while the individual in reality undertakes no work and supplies no services, this would appear to constitute tax evasion. Where a solicitor knows this is happening, they should adhere to the procedures prescribed in the firm’s policy on preventing the facilitation of tax evasion in such circumstances...

Trustees frequently seek to limit personal liability when entering a deal (here, a transfer). Whether a purchaser agrees is subject to negotiation. In this scenario, the exposure for the second trustee appears slight, as they are disposing of just one asset, so they might be willing to abandon that condition. The purchaser must be satisfied that the trustee has been properly appointed and is authorised to give a valid receipt for the sale monies so that any equitable interests are overreached...

SRA standards and regulations Where an individual represents a client in a matter, they must ensure the client is notified of all information material to that matter that they possess, except where exceptions are applicable...