Need for a solicitor?

Convicted Driver Insurance

Amywhite1989

New Member
Hi there,
I had a collision with a mini a week ago and when the police arrived blew 97 at 5am in the morning. I stupidly woke up early from being out the night before and just needed to move my car from a permit area.
Unfortunately I took a corner too wide on a one way street and hit the corner of another car. I am due at court next week and a solicitor has advised me that I would receive up to a 23 month ban, a fine and a community order.
He said the only thing he could probably do is reduce or eliminate any community service but will charge over £400 and it is no guarantee. Just wondering whether you think I should represent myself instead? I'm a school teacher working full time so will have burner pus character references ready. Any help would be great thank you.
Amy
 
Whether it is worth having a solicitor is always a subjective question. If you are looking to enter a straightforward guilty plea and mitigation then yes, the best you can hope for is to keep the sentence as low as possible and potentially avoid a community order. For a reading of 97 in breath the Magistrates Sentencing Guidelines advise the imposition of a 23-28 month disqualification and a community order.

If the avoidance of a community order, or a reduced disqualification are not of much benefit to you then it may not be worth instructing a solicitor to represent you. If however this will make a significant difference to you then having legal representation can certainly help to minimise the severity of any sentence imposed.

You should also be aware of any requirements to report this conviction to your regulator, presumably the NCTL. Typically in professions such as yours there is a requirement to notify your regulator, although you should check the requirements before taking any action. If you would like some advice in relation to this issue, or indeed an investigation commences then we have a team that specialise in this area. The contact number is 0333 999 7158.
 
Enter code DRINKDRIVING10 during checkout for 10% off
Top