All solicitors in private practice must hold a Practising Certificate issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

The Practising Certificate guarantees that the solicitor is qualified to practise and has insurance to protect you if anything goes wrong.

If you want to be sure that your solicitor is qualified, ask to see their Practising Certificate or contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority to check.  All solicitors who currently hold a Practising Certificate are listed on the Solicitors Regulation Authority's website.

You can also ask your solicitor whether the firm has received any quality awards to prove that they have good standards of practice in place.  

Individual solicitors may also be members of a 'Quality assured panel' set up by the Law Society to cover a number of legal subjects.  To be asked to join these panels, solicitors must show that they have considerable specialist knowledge.