Any situation that requires legal advice can be overwhelming at first. This is especially
the case when the issue may be emotionally affecting you, or there are difficult technical
considerations. Although the specifics of your legal query will depend on the situation,
we have provided four useful tips below when preparing to undertake legal action.
1) Start taking records
It is always worth collating information on what has happened with your legal query, logging who
was involved, and when. This could involve making a timeline of events, or creating a folder of
any emails, letters or other written evidence involved. You can also make a list of links to any
relevant websites, or take screenshots of any specific information that may be useful.
Please ensure that you are confident that you are following any data protection or other
confidentiality when making these records.
2) Check your resources
At first it may seem like you are on your own with legal queries. However, ensure that you
examine what resources are available.
If you are a member of a Union, you can speak to them to see if they can offer support or
advice. You can check for legal insurance on your house insurance policy, or as an extra on
your bank account.
Even if you do the above, there are free resources available online that may be of use. We have
collated some of these in our articles below.
3) Think about your aims
A first response to a legal query can be an emotional one, and you may be more concerned
about short term goals rather than working towards a definitive conclusion.
Therefore it is worth thinking about what you are looking to gain from a legal query. For
example, if this was an employment issue that means you can no longer work at a company,
are you looking for a financial settlement, and a good reference? If you still want to work there in
the future, you might want reassurances that this will not affect your job.
There are many different results to a legal situation, and going into a situation with clear aims
and preferred outcomes will make you calmer and more confident when seeking an outcome.
4) Seek legal advice
Even if you follow the steps above, you may still need to see professional legal advice. This is
when costs may occur, and you may need to complete further research into what the necessary
next steps are. However using the steps above you can go into any query with confidence.
If your legal query is an employment law query, or one of the services listed on our website
here, Frederick Place Chambers may be able to help. You can call or email for some initial free
advice, and from there we can advise either online or in person from our chambers in Clifton,
Bristol.
