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Independent legal advice is often a requirement for a particular legal agreement to be valid. In other cases, it is simply a sensible precaution to make sure you understand your rights and that they are protected. Whatever your requirements, we can provide a neutral legal opinion that you can trust.
Glanvilles’ is a full-service law firm able to offer expert legal opinions on a wide range of matters. We can swiftly review any documents and provide a clear explanation of the terms, your rights, and your obligations in plain English.
You can have confidence that we will always safeguard your best interests and our independent legal advisors will make sure you get the right protection both for your immediate situation and the future.
You can contact our independent legal advice solicitors in West Sussex and Hampshire at your local branch in Chichester, Fareham, Havant or Petworth.
Alternatively, you can fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our team will be in touch shortly.
Our team can provide a neutral legal opinion on matters including:
Independent legal advice refers to the process of seeking the opinion of a legal expert on a matter they have not previously been involved with.
This advice will normally be sought where one of the parties to an agreement or dispute wishes to make sure they fully understand their legal position, the terms of any agreement that has been offered or negotiated and the likely consequences of a particular action.
The goal of independent legal advice is to provide the client with a neutral perspective on the issues at play so that they can make an informed decision about what to do.
The person providing independent legal advice must be suitably qualified and have no conflicts of interest related to the matter on which they are advising. The advice must be impartial and in the best interests of the client seeking the advice.
In some situations, independent legal advice may be a requirement for an agreement to be legally binding. For example, this is a condition of entering an employment settlement agreement or a pre- or post-nuptial agreement.
To get independent legal advice, you will need to consult a solicitor or other appropriate legal expert. You may have a face-to-face meeting with them, but often their advice can be given via email, over the phone or through videoconferencing.
In some cases, the other party to the matter may recommend a solicitor and might offer to pay for their legal costs. However, you are always free to choose your own legal representation, and this is generally advisable so you can be confident of truly independent advice.
You will normally be given a Certificate of Independent Legal Advice by your lawyer once they have provided their opinion on the matter in question. You may be required to show this to demonstrate you have met a requirement to seek independent legal advice where this is appropriate.
Independent legal advice can often be provided on a fixed cost basis, meaning a price is agreed upfront. However, this will depend on the circumstances, including the complexity of the matter at hand.
A Certificate of Independent Legal Advice is a document that provides proof you have received independent legal advice. As stated above, this may be required to demonstrate that you have been suitably advised where this is a requirement e.g. when being offered a settlement agreement by an employer or former employer.
Certificates of Independent Legal Advice are often also required in situations involving lending as proof that the person signing an agreement understands any financial risk they may be exposed to.
Common types of situations where independent legal advice may be required include where:
This is not an exhaustive list and, in general, independent legal advice can be a good idea where there is a financial risk or other serious risk to a party entering an agreement.
It is a legal requirement that lenders ensure parties at risk of financial losses have independent legal advice before providing a mortgage in a range of circumstances. This is a regulatory requirement intended to protect people from taking on risks without understanding the potential consequences.
If you need independent legal advice on a mortgage, our team can ably support you.
A lender will typically require anyone providing a personal guarantee for a loan to have independent legal advice before doing so. A Certificate of Independent Legal Advice would normally be required to prove suitable advice has been provided.
Exactly who can provide independent legal advice will depend on the situation but, most commonly, it will be a solicitor with specific expertise in the type of legal matter for which help is being sought. So, for example, if you need advice on an employment agreement offered by an employer or former employer, you would need to consult an employment solicitor.
In some cases, you might be able to get independent legal advice from someone other than a solicitor, for example, for property matters, a licensed conveyancer may be able to help.
If you require independent legal advice, please contact our team and we will be happy to put you in touch with the appropriate member of staff.
Glanvilles’ team have wide ranging experience across a broad variety of legal matters. As such, we can provide expert legal opinions for most issues.
We work with clients throughout Hampshire, West Sussex and across South East England, being able to advise in person, over the phone, via email or through videoconferencing.
Our fees are benchmarked against our competitors, allowing us to offer exceptional value that reflects the high-quality service we provide for our clients.
When you use our services, we promise:
You can contact our independent legal advice solicitors in West Sussex and Hampshire at your local branch in Chichester, Fareham, Havant or Petworth.
Alternatively, you can fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our team will be in touch shortly.
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