Having practised as a solicitor in large, commercial law firms, the majority of my time was taken up acting for one bank against another bank, one insurer against another insurer. Most of us don’t study law for that reason. Most go into it with a burning sense of wanting to help people. Most of us get waylaid by law firms promising bright lights, travel, loads of dollars and “the best work you can get”. Nothing wrong with that, but it does mean that you lose sight of what you can achieve.
However, since starting The Law Collective, I have had the opportunity to provide legal advice to real people in Cornwall, not just large companies. These are people who have real world problems and may not be able to afford a solicitor to help them out.
One such occasion arose last week. Some lovely people had been mis-sold a product by a large corporate. My experience has always been acting for the corporate in such a situation but it was an opportunity to put the shoe on the other foot and act for someone who really needed some legal advice. It was rare in the world of BigLaw to receive thanks for work, and extremely rare for a client to be genuinely grateful (I guess they probably knew the size of their bills!) but it was wonderful to be able to help out a couple who, otherwise, would have not been able to pursue their legal rights.
If you need legal advice, before you contact a solicitor, contact The Law Collective.