Do not contact drink drive solicitors, they will fill your head with they could get you off with it. A normal solicitors is all you need.Contact a few solicitors near you, explain the situation, your going guilty etc and ask what it will cost, shouldn't be more than 300/400 to represent you for a guilty plea.
I think that you have had most of the same advice already . I personally think that it is worth finding a solicitor and obtaining representation. If I were you , and it were not too far out of my way , I’d probably take a trip to the Court where I’m due to appear and see which firms are representing clients . As I stated in a pm to you, these firms will be the most familiar with this court and will be the best placed to advise .Does anyone have experience first or second hand with a solicitor they can recommend to me around London north west.
I am in a serious situation trying to remain positive and it would really help if someone could point me towards a legal advisor.
Thanks for any help
It’s absolutely right to get plenty of advice. Good luck .Thanks for your replies guys, I know some of you have advised me already I just thought others may know solicitors near me who can help as I've never used any before and would like to use someone on recommendation based on thier own or close experience.
Thanks again for your input everyone
Hi,Does anyone have experience first or second hand with a solicitor they can recommend to me around London north west.
I am in a serious situation trying to remain positive and it would really help if someone could point me towards a legal advisor.
Thanks for any help
Brilliant adviceWhen I got done, I phoned around a few firms claiming to be specialists.
Almost all were adamant they could get me off, find a procedural issue on which to do this, get it deferred etc. etc, but of course with absolutely no guarantee other than a sizeable fee.
Nonetheless I was all up for trying, until I spoke to one guy (a very friendly, very honest Irish fella if remember rightly), who was the most honest of the lot. He said all these people will do is encourage you to plead NG on the off-chance or hope that they can find an error at a later date, but with absolutely no guarantee that they can. As is the case mentioned above, he said basically they will charge on a sliding/continuous basis, but it would most probably cost upwards of £3k all told, only for the same outcome; or worse given that a failed NG plea will be at the sacrifice any leniency from the court.
So eventually, I went on recommendations and settled on a lawyer based local to the court, who knew the magistrates and probation officers well, who knew how the press moved and how/when to try and get my case heard to avoid that.
During the consultation he basically told me to give up on forlorn hope of getting off, accept that I was guilty, and that the best course of action was to plead for leniency given my personal circumstances at the time.
It was about £700, but given that I avoided any press coverage, avoided community service in lieu of a HUGE fine and lengthy ban, and was offered the course; I don’t regret using him.
It was probably the best money I could spend in the face of a dire situation. He and the probation officer quite successfully argued that to do CS would only compound the miseries I was going through further, i.e. salvaging my career, repairing some personal issues and having regular access to my kids (particularly given that I was going through a miserable divorce at the time).
I would probably have faired even better WRT leniency had I not had the misfortune to be judged by a district judge rather than a magistrate, owing to staff shortages. There was very little clemency to be had, but they managed to get it.
I still do wonder if I’d tried to get off would it have been successful, but given the increasing desperation with which some of these guys were phoning back as the court date approached (even on the morning of the hearing, with one offering ‘to work with my lawyer’ on the day) did little other than convince me that many of these guys are just ambulance chasers of a different cause.
As both the Irish fella and my lawyer both said, if Messrs McPartlin and Rooney were unable to find a loophole to crawl through, it’s unlikely I would. They were most probably bang-on.
Just my advice, and I with you every success with your case. I hope that whatever transpires is as good as it can be for you; like many others I know all too well how desperate you must be feeling right now. But keep going.
This is top advice. A local solicitor, with knowledge of the Court is so worth it. The only limitation re relying on Duty Solicitor is that they are often rushed off their feet, so they will not have as much time to spend with you beforehand as a solicitor acting in a non “ duty” capacity. This may well not matter to most people but some like to have their case prepared in advance/ need more contact.When I faced a court appearance, I went into total panic mode and contacted a few "specialist" drink driving solicitors who assured me they could help "present the right mitigations" for a fee of £1500 + VAT even though I said I intended to plead guilty. I contacted a couple of local solicitors - the first agreed to represent me for £300 then didn't ring me back. The second, luckily, was due to be the duty solicitor on the day of my court appearance anyway and agreed to represent me for nothing. He also had the advantage of knowing the Court/Magistrates etc. So my advice is to go with a solicitor local to the Court you are to appear before and try to find out who will be the duty solicitor on the day of your court appearance. I found a spreadsheet online with this info, failing that ring around the solicitors in the place you are due to appear and ask. Above all speak to whoever you want to represent you well ahead of time. Good luck
Absolutely agree with you - in my case I had made contact with the duty solicitor 2 weeks ahead of my court appearance so he had paperwork, character references etc well before we met at the court and , crucially, I had his contact details for any questions etcThis is top advice. A local solicitor, with knowledge of the Court is so worth it. The only limitation re relying on Duty Solicitor is that they are often rushed off their feet, so they will not have as much time to spend with you beforehand as a solicitor acting in a non “ duty” capacity. This may well not matter to most people but some like to have their case prepared in advance/ need more contact.
I'm not sure if I'm in the right place but I'm also looking for some advice.
I was arrested for drink driving after I was in an accident (I crashed into some street furniture) and blew 87 at the roadside. I blew 74 at the station and my duty solicitor initially told me not to get a solicitor for court and instead rely on the court duty solicitor. He has since sent me a letter advising me to get a solicitor as I may be given community service. I am going to plead guilty so my question is, how much should I be looking to spend?
For context, I live in the West Midlands.
For a straightforward guilty plea, you can either do it yourself, use the duty solicitor (if they are available) or just use a local general solicitor. The third option should cost you no more than £300 - £400. Do not use a 'specialist solicitor' who will promise you the earth and cost you £2,000 - £10,000+. If you are bang to rights and just looking to enter mitigation, a local solicitor is more than sufficient.I'm not sure if I'm in the right place but I'm also looking for some advice.
I was arrested for drink driving after I was in an accident (I crashed into some street furniture) and blew 87 at the roadside. I blew 74 at the station and my duty solicitor initially told me not to get a solicitor for court and instead rely on the court duty solicitor. He has since sent me a letter advising me to get a solicitor as I may be given community service. I am going to plead guilty so my question is, how much should I be looking to spend?
For context, I live in the West Midlands.