Hayley Beeching, Consultant Solicitor, is one of the very few Solicitors in the region who is a member of Solicitors for the Elderly, but what does this mean?

All SFE Full Accredited Members:

• • Are specialists in advising older and vulnerable clients on legal matters
  • Are fully qualified solicitors, barristers and chartered legal executives who have all undertaken additional specialist training in older client law
  • Have spent a substantial amount of their time working with older and vulnerable clients – a minimum of 3 years in most cases.
  • Have gained the Older Client Care in Practice Award (see panel) which is accredited by SfJ (Skills for Justice) a government body. The award shows that they have the required additional skills to be able to advise and support older and vulnerable people
  • Have signed up to our strict code of practice
  • Are committed to providing affordable, good quality legal advice
  • Are regulated by their professional bodies such as the Solicitors Regulation Authority
  • Keep their knowledge and skills up to date by undertaking regular training
  • Follow a specific older client care procedure which details what clients can expect from them and their dealings with the member’s firm.
  • Have access to our expert forum where they can pick the brains of over 1500 experts

SFE (Solicitors for the Elderly) was set up in 1996 and set out to be a specialist group of lawyers to support and make a difference to older and vulnerable people. (By vulnerable they mean people who may not be able bodied and/or who may be mentality incapacitated i.e. they need help to make decisions or they can’t make decisions for themselves.)

SFE is now a national organisation with over 1600 members across the United Kingdom and a separate group in the Republic of Ireland, all of whom are fully committed to our ethos.

SFE support their members by providing them with expert training and best practice: keep them up to date with any market developments; promote them through our website and press coverage; help them to help each other through our members advice forum as well as running national and regional events and keeping them up to date with the latest case law related to older clients.

SFE speak out in the press on behalf of their members about any proposed changes and developments which we believe will adversely affect older clients.

SFE also work hard behind the scenes with various government, legal bodies and other organisations to ensure their voice and the voice of older people is heard.

Only a very select group of people can become members of SFE. They must be fully qualified, regulated and insured Solicitors, Barristers or Chartered Legal Executives and they must spend at least 50% of their time working with older and vulnerable clients.

To learn more about SFE please click HERE