NQ blog - July 2015: The commercial side of legal practice

Part of our job as solicitors in private practice is the responsibility to earn fees. From litigation-based firms to large corporate firms, earning money is a necessary part of being a solicitor. From the early stages of the traineeship, everyone begins to gain exposure to the commercial aspects of legal practice.

For me, my career in the law thus far has focused entirely upon the legal aid scheme for criminal and civil litigation. Legal aid is an area in itself and learning about the workings of the legal aid system is gained mainly from ‘on-the-job’ experience. There may be a few tutorials about legal aid during the Diploma but much of what you learn will come from your training as you enter into legal practice.

Whilst we all require to earn fees and ensure we are able to contribute to our firm’s profit income, it isn’t as crude an issue as looking at a case and thinking ‘how can I earn as much money from this as possible?’. Our primary duty is to the client and to ensure we provide effective advice and representation. Earning a fee will follow from this.

There are a few simple tips for trainees and those who are in the early stages of qualifying. Firstly, you should always ensure that you have funding available on a file before you carry out any work. You can provide initial work for a client with a grant of advice and assistance and you can seek an increase in authorised expenditure from the Scottish Legal Aid Board where required. You should be aware that increases are only granted by SLAB in certain circumstances – eg for advising a suspect at a police station attendance.

If you require to take an action to court, such as a contact action when negotiations have broken down, full legal aid should be sought. Criminal ABWOR (advice by way of representation) is available in criminal proceedings when, for example, a guilty plea is entered in accordance with the client’s instructions or for other types of cases such as bail undertakings, breaches of court orders and parole hearings. Civil ABWOR is also available for representing clients at a range of hearings, including mental health tribunals.

If you are beginning your traineeship or role as NQ with a new firm, it is important to take some time to get to know the firm you will be working for – how does that firm operate? Does it have a particular client-base? And does it specialise in a particular area of the law? All of these should be factors that you consider as you begin to get to grips with the financial elements of handling cases.

Ultimately, whilst you require to learn about the nuances of the fee-earning scheme within your practice area/s, being commercially aware isn’t necessarily about knowledge gained from text books; commercial awareness is a way of thinking which largely comes from experience. Gaining exposure to the financial practicalities of legal work early on in your legal career can help to ensure that you are able to maximise your commercial abilities as you progress from your traineeship to qualifying as a solicitor.