Sherlock and Co. Clondalkin Office – (01)4570846

When and why is independent legal advice (“ILA”) required? This can seem a bit of a mystery to the individuals who are being required to obtain this.

Where a person/company/bank are requiring that a someone obtains ILA, they are protecting themselves against a future claim that the person receiving said ILA is being subjected to undue influence or misrepresentation by a third party.

The lender will require ILA to protect its own position. It is worth noting that the lender is not requiring ILA because of concerns for you – but primarily a concern to protect their own legal position.

When a solicitor gives a certificate to a bank that ILA has been given, the bank might have a right of action against the solicitor if the solicitor has not given the advice properly. A solicitor cannot simply sign a certificate to say that ILA has been given therefore unless it has indeed been provided.

At Sherlock & Co. ILA meetings must take place face to face, not over the phone, and be without the presence of anybody else in the transaction involved.

It is not the role of the solicitor to analyse the commercial viability of any transaction the ILA may relate to. Whether or not a client has an appetite for that risk is clearly their personal decision.

There must be sufficient discussion for the solicitor to be sure that the client receiving the ILA understands their legal obligations and, most importantly, what happens if things go wrong.

ILA advice sessions allow the consideration and mitigation of potentially negative outcomes as an insurance while planning for the success or positive expectations that are usually the motivating factor triggering the ILA need in the first place.

For more information, please contact our Clondalkin Office on (01) 4570846

The contents of this article are intended as guidance for readers. It can be no substitute for specific advice. Consequently we cannot accept responsibility for this information, errors or matters affected by subsequent changes in the law, or the content of any website referred to in this article.