There could be a range of civil disputes where litigation solicitors play an immense role in judgement delivery. From pending bills to unfulfilled contract terms, issues between tenants and landlords, infringement of IP rights, construction-related claims, the liabilities of insurers, shipping cases, defective products, media and entertainment industry wrangles, the list doesn’t seem to end here.
If these disputes are not developed using negotiation, they will be determined either by court litigation or an alternative way of dispute resolution. The most commonly chosen such methods include arbitration and mediation. The former is often specified as the favoured way in case of commercial contracts, and is fundamentally a private court, while the latter is usually attained through structured negotiations between the parties, supervised by an independent mediator. These methods can still be difficult: arbitration is almost as expensive as litigation, mediation is not essentially passable for complex matters, and some argue that opponents can rely on alternative dispute resolution as a way of ‘bleeding’ money from each other or as concealed interrogation.
Now here comes the role of litigation solicitors in London who paves the way for a successful resolution. They primarily do following jobs:
· Direct claimants on whether they carry a valid claim and defendants on whether to settle or fight a claim made against them.
·Collect evidence and witnesses to support the client’s position; grow case strategies.
·Issue court proceedings or embark on a process of alternative dispute resolution if correspondence with the opposition does not produce a satisfactory result.
· Denote clients at pre-trial hearings and case management conferences.
· Attend conferences with barristers and guide them to perform advocacy in hearings, trials and arbitration.
·Join trials, arbitration and mediations with clients; provide full-fledged support to barristers.
There are a number of litigation-guided law firms that manage cases of all sizes, and these reveal the best opportunities for a litigation-heavy training contract. The competition for litigation jobs at NQ level is severe, so focus on litigation-led firms if you are confident of your leanings.
Unless the claim value is meagre, the solicitor’s responsibility is more about case groundwork than court presentation. Solicitor advocates are gaining ground, and once adequately qualified, they can make an appearance in the higher courts. Nevertheless, litigation solicitors in London still rule court advocacy and the performance of some solicitor advocates has been criticised by the judiciary.
Though a few firms start up in-house advocacy units, the courts remain subjugated by barristers, who are felt to have the edge when it comes to the skills and expertise needed to advocate. If you are strong-minded to become both, a solicitor and a believer, specific areas of practice have more possibility for advocacy – for instance, family, crime, employment and lower-value civil litigation.
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