Freegal Legal Disclaimer.
Please read the terms and conditions of the disclaimer carefully, any further contact with Freegal will deem you to have agreed and accepted the terms and conditions below.
Freegal is a group of Legal Practice Course Students who provide legal advice and assistance to individuals with the hope of helping to explain and give advice on legal areas, issues and questions. All advice given is subject to the disclaimer below. Please read and accept the conditions before continuing.
All advice given is subject to the disclaimer below. Please read and accept the conditions before continuing.
By using Freegal you are agreeing that under no circumstance will Freegal, or any member/representative of Freegal be responsible for:
Any persons choice to rely on the information provided by Freegal, whether this advice and assistance be correct or incorrect, current and complete.
The consequence of any reliance of advice given by Freegal, and any action which is taken as the result of this reliance.
The consequence of failing to rely on the advice and assistance provided by Freegal, and the result of this failure to act.
The failure to provide advice due to a lack of knowledge or expertise in that area of law and the right to refuse to advise in any area of law at the discretion of Freegal representatives.
Any advice or assistance provided on the site is to be used as a guide only and not as specific legal advice. The information provided is provided on an ‘as available’ basis and Freegal does not guarantee the accuracy or the accuracy of the use of the information by the client.
Freegal aim to provide a response to any legal question or enquiry within a period of one week; however Freegal will not be responsible for any delay, and any consequences caused by that delay. All efforts will be made by Freegal to adhere to the time guides and all work will be provided in a professional and expedient manner.
Any solicitors firms recommended by Freegal for further work or instruction are not covered by Freegal and care should be taken before instructing a third party. The final choice will be at the client’s discretion with no liability to Freegal due to the choice and reason for that choice being made by the client.
Freegal reserves the right to bar any person or persons from the site, with no prior warning or explanation.
Freegal reserve the right to alter the site and the Contents and Services of the site without warning, or with prior notification to its users.
The right to link to Freegal’s website will require prior written permission from Freegal’s partners and must be received in writing before the link be placed.
All advise and assistance provided by Freegal is subject to the legal guidelines of the Law Society, with regard to Legal Practice Course Students giving legal advice, this can be found on the page below.
Freegal is not registered as a registered legal practice and is not covered as part of the Solicitors Indemnity Fund. Thus no user of the site will be entitled to or be covered by the Solicitors Indemnity Fund.
Should you require a solicitor we advise you contact a solicitor covered by the Solicitors Indemnity Fund.
We only advise on the law of England and Wales.
Copyright and Reproduction
Except as otherwise stated Freegal is the owner of the copyright of all information requested/featured and given on the website, including but not limited to all database rights, trade marks, registered trade marks, service marks and logos.
Freegal does not own the copyright or have knowledge of the copyright for any websites/advertisements or linked source to Freegal.
You are permitted to download, print, retrieve and display information from the Freegal website on a computer screen, print individual pages on paper (but not photocopy them) and store such papers electronically for your personal use. Corporate use of the website or any information/databases/trade marks/registered trade marks/service marks/logos is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of Freegal Partners. Freegal reserves the right to extend the areas covered by this without prior warning.
You are not permitted to (without prior agreement) to alter the information provided on the Freegal website.
Privacy Policy
Freegal will require basic information which identifies you as an individual, for example your name, address, email address etc, in order for you to take advantages of the services we provide. We will only use such information for the purpose the information was requested.
Except to the extent that we are required to do so by law and in connection with legal proceedings and (possible legal proceedings) Freegal is committed to safeguarding your privacy, while providing a high quality of service. We will treat your personal information as confidential and your details will not be given or sold to anyone.
When you provide Freegal with personal information we take all possible steps to ensure that your information is kept confidential and treated securely.
Freegal accepts no liability for any breach of this security. Freegal will make every effort to ensure the security and integrity of emails on our systems. However no guarantee can be made to the security of the information provided . As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information after we’ve received it, Freegal cannot ensure or guarantee the security of information when it is being transmitted.
No information whatsoever will be disclosed to any other person or organisation without your specific instruction in writing. Freegal is a completely independent organisation with no allegiance above their statutory duty to any other than their clients.
However Freegal reserves the right to use any information provided by the client for the benefit and enhancement of the Freegal website.
In order to develop our service we will only use the information collected online to help us understand more about how our site is used by visitors, and to develop and enhance our services to you.
Please Note that this privacy policy only covers the website at www.freegal.co.uk. Freegal do not maintain the privacy policy for the websites linked to freegal, or the information they provide.
Can I do free work without a practising certificate?
A. Yes, but not as a solicitor. Without a practising certificate: you can give free legal advice and free help in preparing legal documents, and do free conveyancing or probate work, but you must make it clear that you are not doing the work as a solicitor. N.B. Beware! It would be a criminal offence to do reserved litigation work, or to do reserved conveyancing or probate work “for or in expectation of any fee, gain or reward”.
Can I work for friends and relations without a practising certificate?
A. Yes, but not reserved work unless an unqualified person can legally do it without charge, and not “as a solicitor”. Without a practising certificate you cannot do any work, even for friends and family, as a solicitor. Also, you should make it clear before doing any work that you are not practising and that the statutory protections that a practising solicitor can offer clients are not available. In particular, you should bear in mind – and warn the friend or family member – that you are not covered by professional indemnity insurance.
Work not provided by Freegal:
“Reserved work” is work that is reserved, by statute or otherwise, to a limited category or categories of person, including solicitors.
The following activities are “reserved work”.
Litigation, conveyancing and probate. Sections 20 – 22 and 23 – 24 of the Solicitors Act 1974 reserve to solicitors (and certain other persons) the following essential steps in litigation, conveyancing and probate:
conducting litigation;
appearing as an advocate before a court;
and, unless the work is done free, or at the direction and under the supervision of a qualified employer or fellow employee:
drawing or preparing instruments relating to legal proceedings;
drawing or preparing instruments relating to real or personal estate, including the contract, conveyance and mortgage in a land transaction;
making applications or lodging documents for registration at the Land Registry; and
drawing or preparing papers upon which to found or oppose a grant of probate or letters of administration.
Administering oaths. Section 81 of the Solicitors Act 1974 extends the rights of Commissioners for Oaths to all solicitors with practising certificates. Only a solicitor with a practising certificate is a Commissioner for Oaths by virtue of being a solicitor.
Instructing counsel. Although instructing counsel is not reserved to solicitors by any statutory provision, barristers traditionally accepted instructions only from solicitors. They now accept instructions from limited categories of non-solicitors too; but if you instruct counsel as a solicitor, you must have a practising certificate.
Immigration advice and immigration services. The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 reserves these services to persons registered with the Immigration Services Commissioner. Solicitors’ firms do not have to register because the Law Society regulates them in relation to such work; but you must have a practising certificate to rely on this exemption.
Financial services. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 reserves the provision of “regulated activities” to persons authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Certain “regulated activities”, ancillary to the provision of a professional service, are exempt from regulation by the FSA when carried out by solicitors’ firms; but you must have a practising certificate to rely on this exemption.
