In a weekly column, solicitor Juliet Phillips-James casts

her expert eye over a range of legal matters and urges anyone with any questions or problems to come forward for help.

QI already have nine points on my driving licence and I have been caught speeding. I am due in court soon. I have already pleaded guilty to the speeding offence. Will I lose my licence?

AAs you may be aware, you are permitted to drive with anything up to 12 penalty points on your driving licence. For court purposes, points remain active on your licence for three years.

If you have received nine points in the last three years and are due to attend at court, it is likely to deal with the issue of disqualification. You would likely receive penalty points for the speeding matter, the amount will depend upon the speed you were going.

Once you receive 12 or more penalty points, the starting point for the court is to impose a sixmonth disqualification. However, in certain circumstances, you can advance an argument to the court, requesting you keep your licence, meaning you will retain your licence with 12 or more penalty points.

This argument is called an Exceptional Hardship argument. This argument can be advanced only once and exceptional hardship must be shown. The purpose of a period of disqualification is of course intended to cause some hardship. However, the court will be aware that in certain cases, the loss of a person’s licence can have knock-on detrimental effects upon third parties.

For example, if you own a business and employees are reliant upon you, if you provide care for people in the community and people are reliant upon you to do this, or if any third party in general would be caused exceptional hardship. This can include partners or the family unit as a whole.

The argument will involve you giving evidence to the court to explain to them why you should keep your licence and the ramifications that could ensue if you were disqualified.

We strongly advise that representation is obtained for this legal argument. We can arrange an appointment to see you prior to the court hearing and will provide full representation during the hearing.