There are times when you might not necessarily want to instruct a solicitor, but you could really do with a bit of free legal advice.
However, you need to be careful when taking free legal advice, as the individual in question may not 
have a thorough understanding of you and your personal circumstances. The law is a complex thing, and what may seem like small details can actually have a large bearing on your situation.
For instance, you might just want to know whether you can get divorced on the grounds of adultery. The answer to this is yes, you can. But if you were the person who committed the adultery, then you cannot be the person to start divorce proceedings. In addition, you cannot use adultery as a reason if you continued to live together for six months or more after the adultery was discovered.
This is just a small example that shows how a few details can dramatically change the answer to your legal question.
Therefore if you are looking for free legal advice, you should be certain of two things –
1. You are speaking to a legal expert
Firstly, that you are speaking to a legal expert. Some solicitors will offer a free initial consultation, although many will be reluctant to provide too much legal advice during this conversation, as they will not have a comprehensive understanding of your case. However, a free initial consultation is often enough to establish a few basic things, such as whether Probate is needed on your loved one’s estate, or whether you could take your employer to an Employment Tribunal.
There are also charities that will provide free legal advice. Some insurance policies include access to a legal advisory team, meaning you can call in and get a certain amount of free legal advice. In addition, trade unions sometimes offer free legal advice to their members.
2. You explain all the details
Secondly, that whichever legal expert you speak to, you provide all the necessary details. This will ensure that the legal expert will be able to make a proper assessment of your legal issue, which will reduce the risk of him/her providing legal advice that later turns out to be inaccurate.
Instruct a solicitor
While there are ways to get free legal advice, if you have a legal issue that needs to be resolved, you are better off instructing a solicitor. That way a solicitor will be able to study your case and carefully consider the best way forward.
If you are looking for a solicitor but you are not sure where to start, our find a solicitor service can help. We will connect you with the right solicitor for your legal issue and will focus our search on finding a solicitor in your local area. We will do this for you completely free of charge.
To get started, all you need to do is fill in the free online enquiry form, telling us your name, location and a brief summary of your legal matter or contact us.