How we help and support our clients – Q&A

July 25, 2019

We participated in Solicitors Chat on Twitter this morning about how they give clients peace of mind by providing expert legal advice during what can be a stressful time.

Our Litigation Solicitors, Alex Lyttle and James Melvin-Bath, gave us an insight into their day-to-day tasks as a Solicitor.

1. As a solicitor, explain to us how you help your clients on a day-to-day basis.

Working in litigation we try to resolves disagreements between parties either by negotiating a settlement or carrying out court proceedings. – Alex Lyttle

Depending on the case I’m either there to help resolve internal and external disputes, or supporting my clients with new contracts and ongoing contracts that they have with existing clients. Quite importantly, I also manage many of our client’s credit control and debt recovery issues, ensuring they keep their focus on their day to day tasks and we help protect their cash flow. – James Melvin-Bath

2. How do you work to build trust with your clients? Why is this important?

It’s vital that our clients trust our advice. We do this primarily by making sure we act in a way that upholds trust and confidence in our profession as a whole. When it comes to each client’s relationship with us and the firm, we make sure we give commercially minded advice that is always in their best interest. – James Melvin-Bath

A client has to know you before they trust you.  It is important to have regular contact with each other to build up trust. – Alex Lyttle

3. In terms of solving legal issues, how do you support your clients throughout the process?

Any legal process can be daunting, whether it’s a dispute with a client or buying a new commercial work space. We make sure we explain every step of the process to our client and keep them informed as the matter progresses. We also make sure we explain that we empathise and understand their concerns and do all we can to address them. Our role is to take some of the stress of legal matters away from the client so they can just focus on the details that matter. – James Melvin-Bath

It is important that clients can contact us easily and if they leave a message their query is dealt with as quickly as possible. – Alex Lyttle

4. Do you ever find yourself providing support and advice on wider issues related to your client’s case?

If it is something where I have no expertise then I can ask one of my colleagues to deal with the issue. – Alex Lyttle

All the time. As professional advisors we get to know the motivation and people behind our client’s businesses. This means that on a regular basis our clients ask for guidance and support that is more commercial than legal. Much of the time this can be as simple as them being able to confidentially talk through a concern they have or a particular business problem. Also, because we work closely with other professionals if we can’t advise we can normally directly them to someone that can. – James Melvin-Bath

5. What do you enjoy most about working with and supporting your clients?

Seeing businesses, and the people that work in them, grow and develop. As someone that has dealt with commercial dispute resolution and commercial non-contentious work, it’s massively rewarding to be part of a client’s journey and development. Whether it is a sole trader taking on their first member of staff, or a limited company looking at venture capital options, seeing a business develop to the next stage in its growth makes everything we do worth while. – James Melvin-Bath

For more information about how we can help resolve your legal issues, contact Tayntons in Gloucester on 0800 158 4147.