Before a solicitor does any work, they have to decide whether to act at all — and that decision is governed by rules that protect the client and keep the solicitor out of trouble. You need to know who your client really is, whether you have authority to act, whether you must refuse, and how to bow out properly if things change. Get this wrong and you risk acting without authority, breaking the law, or leaving a client stranded.
This lesson takes you through it step by step:
- Accepting and Declining Instructions — the checks before you take a matter on, and your general freedom to decline.
- Mandatory Grounds for Refusal — when you have no choice but to say no.
- Who is the Client and Authority to Act — identifying the real client and who can give instructions.
- Genuine Instructions and Capacity — making sure instructions truly come from a client who can give them.
- Anti-Money Laundering and Due Diligence — the customer due diligence you must complete.
- Client Care and Conflicts of Interest — what to tell the client and when conflicts bar you from acting.
- Gifts and Discrimination — own-interest gifts and the limits set by equality law.
- Ceasing to Act — how to end a retainer properly and come off the court record.