How to switch solicitors in an import dispute
You can change solicitor. Before ending the current appointment, get written acceptance from the new firm, agree who handles urgent deadlines, authorise the file transfer and clarify outstanding fees. Confirm the new retainer and permission to contact the supplier. Cambridge China Bridge can help organise factory and inspection records.
Agree the takeover before ending the appointment
SRA guidance says you have the right to change your solicitor. This guide focuses on a business dispute with a UK supplier handled by solicitors in England and Wales. Give the prospective firm the buyer and supplier names, contract, dispute summary and next deadline. Ask it to confirm that it can accept the case and when it can start.
Explain what you want to change: communication, strategy, costs or capacity. Ask whether the new solicitor will review earlier advice and what that review will cost. For the underlying complaint, use our UK sourcing supplier dispute guide; keep the handover request focused on transferring responsibility.
Give every live deadline a named owner
Request a written schedule of hearing dates, court directions, response dates, settlement offers and any identified deadline for starting a claim. Include the document behind each entry and the action still needed. Ask the incoming solicitor to check the schedule against the papers and confirm who will complete each urgent task.
Do not plan around an assumed pause while the file moves. Ask both firms to confirm the handover date and responsibility for work falling around it. If a deadline is close, send your own copies of the relevant papers immediately and ask the incoming solicitor what protective action is needed.
Authorise and check the case file transfer
Send the outgoing firm written authority identifying the incoming firm, the dispute and the records to transfer. Request an indexed electronic file covering advice, correspondence, court papers, offers, expert reports and outstanding tasks. Ask which originals it holds, what it will release and whether anything will remain outstanding.
For an import dispute, include the agreed specification, order changes, invoices, payment records, delivery documents, inspection findings and dated defect photographs. Preserve the original messages and identify translations separately. Ask the new firm to acknowledge receipt and list missing material. Our goods dispute guide covers the underlying dispute route.
Resolve fees and agree the new retainer
Ask the outgoing firm for an itemised closing bill, details of unbilled work, third-party expenses and money held for your business. Ask whether unpaid fees could delay file release and what arrangement it proposes. If you dispute a charge, identify it in writing and ask the incoming solicitor to help resolve access to urgent papers.
Agree the new retainer in writing: the client company, scope of work, named contact, charging basis, file-review costs, expenses, funding and update arrangements. State whether the appointment covers negotiations, court work or both. Ask how any insurer or other funder will be involved before authorising expenditure.
Confirm communication authority and court arrangements
Give written instructions allowing the new solicitor to communicate with the supplier or its solicitor from the agreed takeover date. Identify who in your business can give instructions. Separate permission to correspond and negotiate from permission to accept a settlement, make an admission or approve spending; record what needs your express approval.
If court proceedings are underway, ask the new solicitor to arrange the appropriate notice of change and confirm the correct filing route, recipients and address for future documents. Government guidance provides a notice of change for telling a court that the legal representative has changed. Keep confirmation with the handover records. For settlement planning, see our mediation guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change solicitor during a supplier dispute?
Yes. SRA guidance says you have the right to change solicitor. Arrange written acceptance, urgent-task ownership and file transfer before ending the current appointment.
What if unpaid fees delay my case file?
Ask for an itemised bill and a written explanation of the proposed release arrangements. Flag urgent papers and deadlines to the new solicitor and ask it to help resolve access.
Who handles deadlines while I switch solicitors?
Ask both firms to confirm this in writing for each live task. Give the incoming solicitor the supporting papers and obtain confirmation that it has accepted responsibility.
Can my new solicitor contact the supplier immediately?
Agree the start date and give written communication authority. Set separate approval limits for settlement, admissions and spending, and ask about any court notice needed.