You get what you pay for!

Which has always struck me as an odd thing to say – obviously if you pay for something, you would expect to get it!

It’s a bit like saying you want to “have your cake and eat it”.  Why bother having cake if you can’t eat it!!!  Not that I eat much cake.  It doesn’t really go with Guinness or Champagne!

A slightly less well known saying is “what’s the difference between a solicitor and a lawyer – about £100 an hour”.  It’s less well known because it’s one I came up with myself, but I still repeat it often.  If you haven’t heard it before, then obviously we’ve not been hanging out enough!

The reason I say this often is because many people don’t know the difference between solicitor and lawyer.  In the UK, anyone in the legal world can legitimately call themselves a lawyer (paralegal, trainee, outdoor clerk etc), and even someone who is not involved in the profession can say they’re a lawyer, but only someone who is a member of the Law Society can call themselves a solicitor.

You may think that it doesn’t really matter, and in some circumstances, it doesn’t.  However, if you hire a lawyer, thinking that they are a qualified member of the profession, who has gone through various exams and vetting processes and is fully insured and regulated, you might be very disappointed to find that you’ve actually taken on someone who knows about as much about law as I know about cooking.  I’m not bad at it, and I’ve never poisoned anyone (yet) but no one is going to be buying cake off me!

I’ve just read that Scotland are so concerned about this that they’re planning to make it illegal to call yourself a lawyer unless you have the appropriate skills and qualifications.  I’m surprised by this because what they should really be doing is educating people about what the differences are, and what the pros and cons are.  If you are on a limited budget, then going for an unqualified lawyer might still be better than trying to get by on your own.  It’s et caveat emptor.  Or, you get what you pay for!

On that basis, my advice is that if you need professional advice, not only should you consider what your budget is, but also consider what level of experience and expertise you need and then cut your cloth accordingly.

Kleyman & Co Solicitors.  The full service law firm.  Full of useful sayings!