Fraud is extremely complex, and that means a good defence is crucial in fighting your case. You need an experienced fraud solicitor to handle everything – but how do you know who’s worth hiring? Make the wrong choice and you could end up with a horrific sentence that ruins your life. Make the right one and it could easily result in you being cleared of any charges.
That’s how crucial this decision is – so here are some important questions to ask before hiring a fraud solicitor:
Some lawyers and solicitors provide a multitude of services that span different legal realms. In an ideal world, you want your fraud solicitor to be a bona fide fraud expert. This should be their speciality; they should only ever work on fraud-related cases.
Hiring someone who claims to be a fraud solicitor yet also works on completely different cases isn’t always bad, but it can mean you miss out on serious expertise. Think of it like hiring someone to replace your water pipes at home – would you hire a proper plumber or a handyman that does a bit of everything? You’d opt for the plumber because this is their sole area of expertise.
Experience matters more than anything for your case. Someone could be a massive fraud expert, but have they actually worked a case before? Everyone has to start somewhere, but you don’t want to be a solicitor’s first case. You need someone who’s been in the trenches and can point to dozens of past fraud cases to support their expertise.
It gives you peace of mind, not to mention you now have evidence that supports or discredits the fraud solicitor. Looking back through their cases will show you how successful they’ve been, or whether or not they’ve managed to get the best outcomes for their clients. The key here is that the solicitor has experience, but they also have successful experience.
Should you hire a fraud solicitor just because they’ve worked on 12 previous cases, if they lost every single one of them and didn’t seem to help their clients much? No.
This question should follow the previous one when a fraud solicitor tells you they’ve worked on cases like yours in the past. It frames their experience in more context and also lets you see what other people think about the solicitor as a professional.
Realistically, if a fraud solicitor is good at what they do, previous clients will be more than happy to praise them. A solicitor with loads of positive reviews and comments is always a green flag. On the contrary, if they have hardly any testimonials – and you find lots of negative reviews online – then that’s a red flag, and you should avoid hiring them.
You need to know how a fraud solicitor will approach your case. This question is especially useful when comparing different solicitors at once. It gives them a chance to flex their legal muscles as they explain what they’ll do for you – and how they’ll do it.
Most solicitors will take similar paths when it comes to legal strategies, but this also highlights any standouts. Your ideal solicitor will give a highly detailed response that breaks down their tactics in stages, so you see how they handle your case. It should give you peace of mind knowing that your fate is in very good hands.
Fraud cases are usually very personal and can damage your professional reputation if leaked to the public. It’s especially bad if you’re wrongly accused of fraud – even a false accusation can have damning effects on your reputation if people hear about it before you’ve been able to end the case and prove your innocence.
With that in mind, this question lets you see what a fraud solicitor does to keep things under wraps. If they don’t do anything – and let the case become public knowledge – then you might want to reconsider hiring them. The best fraud solicitors know how to keep your case quiet to mitigate any reputational damage.
Many people forget that there will be a police investigation interview as part of every fraud case. You’ll be in a room with some officers who ask questions about the fraud accusation. As such, you need good legal representation, so be sure to ask if a fraud solicitor will help you in this situation.
Immediately, you should discredit any solicitor who won’t help with police interviews. It should be a core part of their job, so you must question why they won’t do it. The top solicitors won’t just help you, they’ll join you throughout the interview and can give a breakdown about how they’ll assist you.
You have to remember that hiring a fraud solicitor is a lot like conducting a job interview – only they’re the ones looking for work. This should be your final question, as it gives the solicitor a chance to talk freely about what makes them different from anyone else.
Fraud solicitors who can come up with a long list of reasons and feel very convincing are always worth considering over those who might stutter or recite things you’ve already covered. It’s a tough question for them to answer, but that’s the point.
All of these questions are ideal to help you filter through the possibilities and find a fantastic fraud solicitor. You could also ask about fees and charges, but that’s completely up to you. Most fraud solicitors will charge in the same way – you won’t find many “no win no fee” promotions here, purely because that’s not how fraud cases work.
Taking all of this into account, if you’d like to ask these questions to a fraud solicitor, then please get in touch with ABV Solicitors today. We’re happy to answer any queries you have to showcase that we’re more than capable of taking on your case.
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