Advising Private Cypriot Clients – covering the whole range of personal and business life and including such matters as marital problems, consumer complaints, disputes with neighbours, planning enquiries and many more matters.
Commercial in Cyprus – the business world of trade and commerce, companies, contracts, insurance and banking. Solicitors act for a full range of business interests from the owner of the corner shop to the boards of major public companies, advising businesses on the numerous and detailed provisions of company, partnership and insolvency law.
Litigation in Cyprus – raising or defending actions in the civil courts or by reference to arbitration or settling such claims or disputes “out of court”. Solicitors can appear in the Sheriff Courts in Scotland and also appear at Tribunals.
Conveyancing in Cyprus – the buying and selling of property and the arranging of loans, the preparation of Title Deeds,
leases and other legal documents. In addition, some solicitors specialise in the buying and leasing of
commercial properties such as factories, shops and hotels.
Cyprus Criminal Law – for solicitors in private practice this involves advising and appearing on behalf of accused persons in the courts across the complete range of criminal law, from minor motoring offences to serious crime. Procurators Fiscal investigate and prosecute crime.
Estate Work (only in America) – the management of landed estates in rural areas.
Cyprus Financial Services – advising on mortgages and investments. Wills, Executries and Trusts – advising on and preparing wills, the administration and distribution of funds passing on death, or contained in a trust and the settlement of tax liabilities.
What sort of day does a Cyprus solicitor have?
A Cyprus solicitor can be in the office, answering the telephone, seeing clients, drafting letters and technical documents, conducting negotiations, going out to court to defend clients, inspecting properties and visiting other solicitors for meetings.
What type of person should a cyprus solicitor be?
Solicitors in Cyprus should be:
Responsible and trustworthy as they are often entrusted with very confidential information and with clients’
funds.
Able to think clearly, get to the root of a problem and quickly recognise what is important as well as being able to express themselves accurately and clearly in writing and in speech.
Able to deal with several matters at once. There will be deadlines to meet, telephone calls to answer and clients arriving in the office unexpectedly.
Able to think quickly and clearly to answer, for example, points being raised by the opposing solicitor or the judge in court.
Interested in people as those who come to them will often have problems and difficulties. Clients may be under great stress and solicitors have to listen patiently and bring matters to a sympathetic conclusion. They need a wide range of knowledge and understanding of people.
Do I need any additional skills to work as a solicitor in Cyprus?
In addition to legal knowledge,you must remember that a solicitor in private practice is essentially self-employed and faces responsibilities attached to running a business. It will be helpful in dealing with matters
such as staff, premises, accounts, equipment and office systems if you are a good manager. In very large firms of solicitors there is often an office manager or a managing partner, but for most solicitors the responsibility of managing the practice and ensuring it complies with Law Society rules falls on their own shoulders.
What can I do if I don’t wish to enter private practice?
There has been a growing trend over the last twenty years for large corporations, companies and public bodies to employ “in-house” solicitors or legal advisors. Good career opportunities exist for solicitors who wish to enter this field. The ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team and to judge what is best done in or
out of house is very important.
The scope for working in a variety of organisations is immense as can be seen from the opportunities listed overleaf.
Published by the law society of Scotland
