Advice on solicitors... :(

[lostpleasehelp]

Hi,

I have always been to worried about posting on here but seein how good the help is on here an im really in need of some

After months of being on uncon bail my friend has been charged and is now in remand... i thought this FA would be dropped as is it has been going on for what feels like an eternity and seems so fabricated, dont know how its come to this... so shocked and upset.

Anyway he is currently using the same sol, it was duty sol, he likes that fact that he has been there from the beggining interviews ect, but im not so confident in him, i think he needs a specialised one. My friend has qualified for legal aid and is willing to pay towards it too, but we dont understand how it all works. What does legal aid do, is it to late to change sol now, how do you go about it and how do you know who is good?? Ive been looking but feel like im going round in circles

Any help would be appreciated as i feel so lost, dont know where to start and reallly want to help my friend as he doesnt deserve any of this

Thanks x

[RFLH]

If you can give a county I'm sure someone will be able to offer up a name for you.

[lostpleasehelp]

Thanks RFLH x

im really scared of posting on here lol...

cheshire is the county, how do i put them in touch with my friend if i find one, how does he go about changing... its all so confusing not sure how much more i can cope with, but want to do all i can as im the one he is relying on and because i want too, has anyone had experience of changing solicitors after a charge?? thanks xx

[Rights Fighter]

Changing after charge can depend on a number of factors. Can he afford to go private? Solicitors are no longer paid by the hour in trial matters so some who are self employed cannot afford to undertake publicly funded trials as they cannot put the hours in that are needed. Paid privately, they can.

If he cannot afford to pay then he needs to provide an argument as to why funding should be transferred to another solicitor. If he does not want to change then that is his choice.

If you can find an experienced solicitor (public funding) prepared to take it on then he or she can help with the argument to get the funding transferred.

[Wife of falsly accused]

Does it make a difference if you pay or have legal aid. I ask my husbands solicitor this when we first went to see him, and he said we could if we wanted to but that he would do the same job either way, so save your money instead.

[Rights Fighter]

For trial purposes: paying privately enables a good solicitor to obtain some evidence (say via a private investigator) much quicker than if they have to argue for an extension of funding form LSC. Things can be done much quicker on private funding.

For appeal purposes again more evidence can be obtained by paying for it - say fro a medical expert - instead of arguing the toss for an extension of funding to pay for it - and often LSC will now allow the extension of funding anyway.

It also enables the solicitor/barrister to spend more time on the matter. LSC pays per case not per hour for a solicitor.

[Faith]

It is also worth pointing out LostPleaseHelp that a trial relating to sex cases is very different from any other crime. It really is worth pursuing a specialist solicitor if possible.

Like RF says, it is of course the choice of your friend at the end of the day but I would really believe that you need someone who has experience in fighting this kind of allegation