As told by barrister by barrister Mark Watson-Gandy to Lucy Trevelyn in the Law Society publication “Solutions” for May 2009, a German lawyer teased an English solicitor about why he needed to seek Counsel’s advice.
“My client comes to me and asks advice. I charge him a fee. That is what we call a profession” he said. The English solicitor replied “When my client comes to me, I tell him it is just as well he came to me as he has a really complex problem and that we need to see Counsel in conference. That is my first fee. Then I write down what my client said and send it to the barrister. That is my second fee. Then I and my client go to the barrister’s Chambers. I eat the barrister’s biscuits while he tells my client the answer to his question. For that, I get my third fee. Once outside, my client says, “that barrister is absolutely brilliant but I did not understand a word he said”. So I explained what the barrister just told him and then charged my fourth fee. That, my friend, is what we call a business.”
Legal advisors are often the butt of amusing anecdotes such as this and no doubt, in some cases, for good reason. However, we pride ourselves on our ability to provide advice in plain English and not over-rely on Counsel. All of the fee-earners in the department have a high degree of technical ability which enables each of us to create commercial and pragmatic solutions. We aim to resolve disputes on behalf of our clients as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
