What Are Duty Solicitors, and Are They Bad?
It is a myth that duty solicitors are ‘bad’ solicitors, work for the police and cannot to be trusted.
What is a duty solicitor?
A duty solicitor is simply a solicitor who has carried out an extra qualification, additional to their ordinary studies to become a solicitor, which enables them to go on what is known as the ‘duty rota’. The idea of the duty solicitor scheme is to provide all individuals regardless of their means with access to free, independent legal advice at the police station and court.
Once a solicitor has passed their portfolio and exams to become ‘duty’ qualified, they will be placed on a rota alongside all other duty solicitors where they will be allocated slots for particular courts and police stations where they are on duty to assist anyone who does not have their own solicitor. For example, a solicitor may be allocated to Court Room 2 at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and on duty for Croydon Police Station from 3pm to 11pm on Thursday. As such, anyone at court or arrested between those hours on that day who does not have their own solicitor will be given the duty solicitor. They are independent and do not work for the police.
Is there a difference between a duty solicitor at the police station and at Court?
There are different schemes for courts and police stations. The duty solicitor allocated to you at the police station is funded for attendance at the police station only. Therefore if you had a duty solicitor at the police station, you may wish to keep in touch with them and if you are charged with an offence (given a date to attend Court) you can request that the same solicitor attends Court for you. At that stage, that solicitor would require funding to represent you either through government funding (Legal Aid) or private funding (payment by yourself).
If you used a duty solicitor at the police station and did not keep in touch with them, you are still entitled to use the duty solicitor at Court. You should be advised that once you use a duty solicitor at Court once, you will not be entitled to use them again for the same case. For example, if you plead guilty at your first hearing following advice from the duty solicitor and your sentencing hearing is adjourned (set back) for a later date then you will not be able to use another duty solicitor at your sentencing hearing. Therefore, it is advisable that you either apply for Legal Aid or privately fund solicitor who represented you as duty at the first hearing or secure your own chosen solicitor prior to your next hearing to ensure you have representation.
Once I have a duty solicitor, am I stuck with them?
If you have a duty solicitor but do not want to continue to be represented by them, you should inform them of this.
If you had a police station interview and are still under investigation, then tell the duty solicitor that you would like to transfer your case elsewhere. You will need to sign a ‘letter of authority’ with your solicitor of choice stating that you would like your case to be dealt with by them instead and for your file to be sent to your chosen solicitor.
If you were charged with an offence either at or following the police station (given a court date), the duty solicitor may have already applied for Legal Aid if you provided them with information about your means and signed Legal Aid forms at the time. It is easy to forget or not realise that you have already signed Legal Aid forms with a duty solicitor. The best thing to do is inform them that you want alternative representation and ask that they do not apply for Legal Aid if they have not already.
If the duty solicitor has already applied for Legal Aid, you can apply for a Transfer of Legal Aid – the form to complete is here. As the case is funded by the Government you cannot simply change solicitors as and when you wish. You have to make an application to the Court which is completed by yourself, your proposed new solicitors and current solicitors.
There are rules and regulations which apply to such applications for example, you have to show that either:
- There has either been a breakdown in the relationship between you and your current solicitor such that neither your current solicitor or a colleague of theirs can provide effective representation; or
- Another compelling reason which means that neither your current solicitor nor a colleague of theirs can provide effective representation.
The application will first be completed by you and your proposed new solicitor setting out why you want to change solicitors. Once that part is complete, you will need to send this to your current solicitors who will either agree or disagree with the transfer. The application will then be sent to the Court for the Judge to consider, this can either take place administratively (considering the paperwork alone) or you can request an oral hearing.
Are duty solicitors bad solicitors?
Within any profession, different individuals provide a different quality of service. As explained above, a solicitor has to obtain further qualifications to be considered a duty solicitor. If you are looking for a solicitor, want to consider reviews about the duty solicitor you had or the firm they belong to, we would suggest looking at legal portals who rank law firms and individual solicitors such as the Legal 500, Chambers & Partners or even Trustpilot.
How can Hodge Jones & Allen Solicitors help?
Our Criminal Department represents those from all walks of life charged with minor offences in the Magistrates’ Court to the most serious, complex offences in the Crown Court. We are proud to say we are highly ranked in the industry, with our Crime Department being ranked as a Tier 1 firm by the Legal 500 and Band 2 by Chambers & Partners. If you would like our Crime Team to represent you, please call 0330 822 3451 to discuss your case.
