If you have not yet made a personal injury claim but you are thinking about doing so, then you can request to speak to a female solicitor if your injuries or the nature of your accident is sensitive to you. In fact, you can request to speak to a female solicitor for any reason, so whether you have trust issues or you simply get on better with women, then do feel free to request a female solicitor for your legal advice.
If you are already making a claim and your current solicitor is male but you want to change to a female solicitor, then this is also possible. You will not usually have to provide a reason for wishing to change. However, you will likely have racked up legal fees with your existing solicitor and these will need to be paid. Usually, the two solicitors will communicate with one another and agree a ‘binding promise’ stipulating that the original solicitor can reclaim their costs from the other side or from the compensation amount upon claim success.
Generally speaking, there are as many female solicitors nowadays as there are male solicitors, and law firms for the most part have an equal mix. So finding a female solicitor that you get on with should be easy. Injury solicitors are also quite used to being requested based on their gender. The legal industry recognises that some injuries and some accidents are very gender sensitive, and feeling embarrassed when talking to a male solicitor about your injuries or the circumstances surrounding your accident is a perfectly good reason to request a female solicitor. Another reason you might like to choose a female solicitor is because of a bad experience in the past. Whatever the case, your request should be obliged.
In the same vein, you can also request a male solicitor. Most of the time, a female or male solicitor is requested by a person of the same sex. So a female claimant will request a female solicitor and a male claimant will request a male solicitor. If you request a solicitor of a different sex, then the law firm may ask you why you want to change. This is normal because as we’re sure you will agree, requesting a solicitor of a different sex does raise a few questions. But switching should be easy, and the law firm will likely meet your request.
So to summarise, yes, you are allowed to request a female injury solicitor. However it’s up to the law firm to meet your request. Most are absolutely fine with such requests, though, so don’t be afraid to ask for a female solicitor to work your case.
