What can a solicitor do that I cannot do myself?

Your solicitor’s legal background and experience can provide you with a range of options for your specific case. If you are threatened with legal action, a solicitor can analyse its legal basis, summarise the potential costs to you of each of your available options, and impartially advise you on the strengths and weaknesses of your case.

Using a solicitor is especially advised when court proceedings are involved, as courts enforce complex rules for recovering legal costs. In acrimonious disputes, solicitors help all parties to focus their attentions on the main issues in order to reach an early resolution.

In addition where you are unrepresented your opponent is not at risk of paying your solicitors’ fees and therefore has no substantial penalty for fighting and losing.

If the other party’s solicitors are demanding information, am I required to give it?

Where court proceedings are involved, it is a general rule that you must disclose documents that are relevant to matters in dispute, even if they might harm your case. If the other party asks for documents, you should consider:

• Whether the information requested is relevant to the case; and,
• Whether it is proportionate to the case. For example, the cost of retrieving ten years’ worth of documents in a small-value claim is not justifiable.
• Whether it is somehow privileged and not open for inspection by the other side.

You do not have to show the other party any documents that were prepared for purposes of the litigation or for the receiving or giving of legal advice. These are considered ‘privileged’. However, you may not be able to prevent documents that you consider to be ‘commercially sensitive’ from being seen by the other party if they are relevant to the case.

The other party is entitled to request information about what you said in the process of initiating, or responding to, the claim. Usually this is for clarification purposes. If you do not comply with such a request, they may make a court application for an order that requires you to respond under Civil Procedure Rules, the cost of which order you are responsible for.