Lawyers, otherwise known as solicitors, are people who have studied and had specialist training about the law who work with people to help solve their legal problems. It is their job to explain to you what the law says and what your rights are, and to use the law to help you solve problems and tell the courts and hearings what you think, what your rights are and what you want.
A solicitor can write letters, go to meetings and go to court and to Children’s Hearings’ to tell people what you think, argue for what you want to happen and make sure everyone follows the laws that protect you. If you have to start a court case to resolve your problem a solicitor can do that for you. They can give you advice about what to expect, what the next steps are, what decisions might be made and about what things you should and shouldn’t ask for or agree to. They can challenge things that are said that you don’t agree with or that don’t respect your rights. They can tell you what to do if you disagree with a decision.