Client services

What is a notary public and notarial work?

John Gibson
09 November 2011

People are generally aware that there are two branches of the legal profession in England and Wales - i.e. solicitors and barristers - but there is also a third, the notary public.

Most notaries are also solicitors, but there are only around 1,000 practising notaries in total throughout the whole of England and Wales. With the exception of the notary firms in the City, there are very few firms that can demonstrate the strength and depth that Hill Dickinson has in this specialist area.

Notarial work almost always has a foreign element. A notary is very rarely needed for domestic legal work, but other jurisdictions frequently require legal documents to be prepared by, or signed in front of a notary. In short, notaries verify documents for use abroad. By employing the services of a notary in this country, the company/individual entering into the foreign transaction avoids the need to travel abroad to sign the necessary documentation. The most common examples of notarial work include:-

Preparing and witnessing powers of attorney for use overseas.
Dealing with purchase or sale of land and property abroad.
Providing documents to deal with the administration of the estates of people who are abroad, or own property abroad.
Authenticating personal documents and information for immigration or emigration purposes, or to apply to marry or to work abroad.
Authenticating company and business documents and transactions.

Anyone who has dealings in a foreign jurisdiction may require the services of a notary at some point. Having notaries in the Hill Dickinson team opens up significant cross-sell opportunities for the firm, particularly when considering the number of fee earners who have dealings in other jurisdictions.

About our team

Although the firm has employed notaries for many years, there was no formal team in existence until December 2010. The notarial services team is now firmly established and is headed up by John Gibson. We cover notary public assignments for people who need notaries in Chester, Manchester, Sheffield, London and Liverpool.

Please contact any member of the notarial team if you have a query relating to notarial services.