Motoring Solicitors That Get Results
As specialist motoring solicitors, Forrest Williams represent clients charged with all sort of motoring offences.
Our team consists exclusively of motoring law professionals and is headed by Steve Williams, a seasoned motoring defence lawyer with a unique approach to defending individuals who are facing a driving ban. Your driving licence is too important to leave to a non-specialist solicitor. If you have been charged with Drink Driving, Careless Driving, Speeding, or have accumulated 12 points on your licence, you have come to the right place.
If there is any risk of you losing your licence as a result of the offence, it is important that you call us as quickly as possible. People often believe that there is nothing that can be done to avoid a disqualification. In our experience this is often not the case.
At Forrest Williams we believe that first-class advocacy by an experienced and specialist solicitor or barrister is the absolute minimum you should receive from a motoring firm. It should be a given; something you can take for granted that you will receive. Our team specialist advocates always provide first-class advocacy, together with the impeccable, and award winning customer service that comes naturally when you genuinely care about your clients, as we care about our clients.
The following paragraphs give some information about our customer service focus.
Julia Coffin and Steve Williams of Forrest Williams
All cases are reviewed by Steve Williams. No case is signed off without him checking it and approving it.
We understand that sometimes it’s not easy to talk during the day, so we have an out-of-hours service offering 24/7 advice. As well as phone calls, we are happy to communicate by email, fax and even text message – whatever is easiest for you. We know that some clients still worry about their case even after we have spoken. We do not ever want a client lying awake at night worrying. You will be given your case worker’s mobile number if you need it and can call any time of the day and we will put your mind at ease.
We only work on a fixed-fee basis. What we quote is what you pay; none of this ‘Plus VAT’ nonsense or hidden extras. We are passionate about giving you the best personal service possible. We don’t believe good service is good enough.
Confidentiality is something about which clients are frequently concerned. Let us reassure you. As you may imagine our motoring solicitors receive lots of testimonials – some of which are on our website. However, we would never release your details to any third party. We will never ask you to appear in a testimonial video. We will never ask you to put your name to anything on our website. This privacy policy is exactly the same for all clients. You may or may not be a celebrity; we value your privacy either way.
As a result of our client-centred philosophy and meticulous working practices, we get great results for clients – whether that means reducing an inevitable ban or finding a defence. If you want the court to hear your side of the story, our motoring solicitors would love to help you.
A Personal Message from Steve Williams
You are probably here because you have been charged with a motoring offence. I know only too well how that can feel. I appreciate the stress involved and that this will, no doubt, be a difficult time for you. At the moment it may feel as if no one is listening to your side of the story. It is important that you are represented at court but it is more important that you feel comfortable with that representation and that your side of the story is heard.
Let me tell you my story about why I do this job. I now have over 25 years’ experience of defending motorists just like you, but becoming a defence solicitor was not my original intention. I trained as a lawyer in London and had ambitions of becoming a commercial lawyer dealing with expensive contracts and disputes. I soon realised, however, that that work bored me. I wanted to work with people but I was idealistic and a little naive. Whilst training, I was given the case of a drink driver. It was my first contact with court rooms and I became hooked. I loved the thought of defending someone in court and really making a difference in my clients’ lives.
Unfortunately, my first client appeared as guilty as charged. He was charged with drink driving. The police said they followed him in his van and then later saw him walking back from his van, which had been parked up, and arrested him close to his front door. His defence was that he wasn’t driving and that a friend was driving. It seemed clear cut; the police were certain and what’s more he had done it before: three times, in fact.
I told him in no uncertain terms that he would have a difficult job convincing the court he was innocent and that he should plead guilty. He was adamant that he was innocent. I was determined he should plead guilty and I explained that if he didn’t, and he was found guilty, he would go to prison. He told me he was scared of prison but that he honestly hadn’t been driving.
I told him to think very hard about the case and that I would see him the following day. That was over 20 years ago and I remember it like yesterday. That was the first and last time I ever told anyone to plead guilty when they insisted they were innocent. At this time I didn’t realise that every story has two sides to it.
Later that evening I went through some papers that the Crown Prosecution had just sent that day; the day before the trial! I didn’t expect to find anything of much use but read them anyway. What I saw in those papers shocked me. I went through the custody record, which includes a record of all property that the person had on them when they were arrested. It listed the usual things; coins, some bank notes, chewing gum, paperwork and house keys. I couldn’t believe it; there were no car keys on him! He hadn’t told me this. In his absolute terror at the prospect of prison, it probably seemed like an insignificant detail. It was actually the key (pardon the pun) to the whole case. He was innocent! He had not had chance to get rid of any property before the police stopped him. So, if he was driving, he must have had the car keys on him. He was telling the truth and so was his friend who said he was driving the van and had seen my client walk past as he parked up.
I started to see a different side of the case now; my client’s side.
The police had lost sight of the vehicle as it went around a corner, so they couldn’t say for sure that it was him driving because he was in a van and they couldn’t see the driver. My client’s friend looked a little like him. Suddenly we had a case. My client was right and I was determined to apologise to him first thing tomorrow morning. I arrived at court the next morning with the barrister who was representing my client. I hadn’t qualified yet so couldn’t do the court work. I explained everything to the barrister and we waited for him to arrive.
I will never forget that morning in court. Two hours after the case was due to start, a woman came into the court building. She had obviously been crying and was, even now, very upset. She explained that she was my client’s wife and that he had died the night before of a heart attack. You can imagine my distress when she told me he was so scared about going to prison.
He never got to tell his side of the story.
That day changed my life. I gave up commercial work and dedicated my career to defending people. My guiding principle, from that day forward, is that there are always two sides to every story, whether the client is pleading guilty or not guilty. I formed Forrest Williams on that principle and everyone who works with me shares my commitment to this belief. Over the years I have built up a team of people dedicated to helping people tell the court their side of the story, whether it is why they committed the offence or the fact that they didn’t commit the offence.
I gathered a team of experts: barristers, scientific experts, doctors, driving instructing experts, and my legal assistants who will answer your call and help you tell your side of the story. I train every member of my team personally, ensuring they can offer you the specialist motoring law knowledge and impeccable customer service that I promise every client. I am confident that we are the best motoring solicitors you could wish for.
I believe we take a unique approach to defending people. We take the time to understand you and what happened in your case. We listen to you and probe and prompt you to find your side of the story. I have been defending people for 20 years and am considered one of the leading Motorist Solicitors in the country. I am the lawyer that other lawyers turn to when their clients have problems with motoring offences. I now help train other lawyers on motoring law.
We know from experience that courts are busy, and too often people are dealt with as if they are a number. We hear prosecutors, other motoring solicitors and magistrates talk about cases as ‘the one who blew 67′ or the ‘speeder doing 53 in a 30′. At Forrest Williams, we never work with numbers; we work with people. We don’t even use reference numbers on correspondence, because every member of staff knows our clients by name, not by a number. We make sure that the court sees you as a person, not a number. As motoring solicitors, we are committed to making sure they hear your side of the story.
We have a 100% honesty policy. This means we will always tell you what the chances of success are if you want to plead not guilty, and will never, ever encourage you to plead not guilty just to increase costs. On this note, you may be interested to know that we turn away more cases than we accept. If there is a defence, we will find it. However, we don’t make unrealistic claims. We know you will be wary of solicitors who suggest they can always find a defence, regardless of the circumstances.
If we can’t find a defence, it’s because there isn’t one.
We are recommended by the prestigious Legal 500, a specialist publication for lawyers as one of the leading law firms in the country. Our Steve Williams is listed individually as one of the country’s leading motoring solicitors. We have won local and national awards for our client care.
If your driving licence is important to you call our motoring solicitors now for a free initial assessment.
We cover all courts in England and Wales and can see clients in Nottingham, London and Birmingham. You can also see our main website for more details – Drink Driving Solicitors in Nottingham
Get the expert motoring solicitors on your side & call us now for
free 24-hour initial advice 01623 397200
