Finding Legal Help When Things Go Wrong
Hopefully you'll have seen the dozens of articles on our site telling you to be wary of the Legal Assistance addons many insurers stick on your policy as already having opted into rather than asking you if you want to opt in like the pretty much do for everything else such as breakdown cover or a courtesy car. It may sound like a good idea at the time when you see costs of a couple dozen pounds in order to secure the services of a solicitor if you need one. Considering solicitors cost hundreds of pounds per hour this sounds like a great deal. However remember that insurers are already making much of a loss on car insurance policies and are not really going to give away more stuff if they can help it. For most car insurance related matters, solicitors work for free. In other words, all that no win no fee and 100% compensation stuff you see on the adverts. In other words, you're paying the insurer for a service that is free and the majority of people don't bother to use their insurance appointed solicitor when something goes wrong anyway because it feels like a conflict of interests:
Please check out the new US Law Firm Reviews section on our sister site.
Law (aka All Law Ltd) Solicitors in Preston: So how can you discern one firm from another?
As an example we're going to cover a firm called Law based in Preston. The official site for this firm has a less usual ending to being www.your.law and no other websites currently redirect you there. Here are some snipp...
WYM Legal Ltd Conveyancing Solicitors in Watford:
class="infoquote "Getting a quote takes seconds and will give all the financial costings applicable to your purchase."< div>
A quick note on navigation. Be vigilant.
class="infoquote "As a CLC accredited conveyancer, the focus of the business is our clie...
Woodstock Legal Services Ltd - Solicitors Law Practice in Poole:
Whilst there is a definite 'perfect professional' curve between experience and age, the fact this firm has qualified people from across the last five decades is clearly a good sign. So which claims and imagery should you look for?
class="infoquote "our lawyers a...
Wolf Law Solicitors Ltd in Wirral: 'wolf law solicitors wirral' .
class="infoquote "Wolf Law are experts in all kinds of claims, from slips, trips and falls, to road traffic accidents and medical negligence."< div>
On navigation please note the official site is www.wolflaw.co.uk with www.wolflaw...
Wilford Smith Solicitors in Sheffield (Meadowhall) & Rotherham - WS Strategic Ltd: First, a quote from their website:
class="infoquote "We are more than just a law firm. 'Wilford Smith & Co' simply seems to be an older name still dotted around, not a different practice. Keep aware of which site you are on and never discuss payment details via email....
Wildcat Law Ltd Solicitors in London & Southampton: For example thousands of people have handed their entire house deposit when buying a house straight into a fraudster's bank account. If you've already been through a dozen law firm websites today you'll probably have noticed a lot use the same sort of 'sales language'. For t...
WH Law Ltd - Immigration Solicitors in Woking: Sometimes based on nothing more than a single official-looking email saying to do so. The home office granted the application."
"I am flying to UK on 1st Feb to see my children after a gap of 3 years!"
"Can't describe how grateful I am for all his help in making my app...
Waterstone Partnership Solicitors Ltd in Bradford: Keep safe.
. It's not as if 'no site' means the company has shut down for a while. That means you can get a good idea of the expertise and experience of the person you're actually thinking of handling your case.
Fortunately for people living in England and Wales the...
Walker Foster Ltd Solicitors in Skipton, Barnoldswick, Silsden, Settle, Ilkley, Northallerton & Harrogate: If you https: solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk office 595949 walker-foster-limited" look up the page< a> for any firm you'll be shown contact details, alternative trading names, office locations, plus the areas of expertise and qualification dates of every registered solicito...
UVS Law Immigration & Visa Solicitor in Burton-on-Trent & London: Be careful of such wording on other sites.
class="infoquote "Opening up borders and welcoming diverse perspectives not only enriches cultures and economies but also fosters empathy and understanding among nations." - Rashid Uzzaman< div>
Entry clearance is requi...
TWB Probate Solicitors Ltd - Estate Planning, Wills & Probate in London: That's not to say there aren't alot of well experienced people such as paralegals out there who can help. As you can see from https: solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk office 2235 twbprobatesolicitors-limited" the page on this firm< a> - solicitor Howard Brown has been a qualif...
The Law Partnership Ltd - Solicitors in Coventry: It's a difficult thing to judge.
It may therefore be an idea to bookmark the correct site if you plan on coming back. To start with, Google is trying to be stricter on review searches, so these days you sometimes have to type in the city of the firm along with the nam...
Thomas and Thomas Solicitors Ltd in Maesteg, Bridgend & Port Talbot: The .com and other variants such as www.thomasandthomas.co.uk also do not bring the correct firm up. It can be very confusing trying to navigate the world of 'marketing jargon'.
Beyond that, you have firms claiming to be 'local' which sounds great. People https: www...
Stephanie Heijdra - The Lady Barrister & Clerksroom Chambers in London: As part of a chambers you'll find every barrister works quite individually anyway though. Barristers are setup quite differently to regular law offices in that there typically aren't official physical law offices to go back and forth to. They also will be far more specialis...
Summerfield Browne Solicitors in London, Birmingham, Cambridge, Oxford, Market Harborough & Leicester:
class="infoquote "Where possible we try to agree fixed or capped fees.
class="infoquote "We are a modern and progressive law firm, and operate a new legal services business model"< div>
Unfortunately this statement on the Summerfield Browne website is one...
Sternberg Reed LLP Solicitors with Offices in Romford, Barking & Grays: Stating a larger size of firm can convey the idea of considerable resources for your case and a wide range of talent within the company to draw from. However we always recommend reading the actual comments when it comes to law firm reviews rather than flicking through star...
Solidaire Solicitors - Solidaire Law Ltd in Milton Keynes: But you've probably seen most law firms claiming to offer 'bespoke' services and promise a 'positive outcome'. Those are both good and varied levels of experience to have within a firm. Things like this are important to note as there is https: www.ncsc.gov.uk guidance ph...
Sarah Rostamlou-Andrews Law - Landlord / Tenant Eviction Dispute Solicitor in Southport, Lancashire: Therefore while your local takeaway might have hundreds of reviews , your local solicitor might only have a handful.
Another note on navigation. If you are a landlord, making a connection or bookmarking the site might be a good idea if you're not currently in need of...
PCS Legal Ltd Conveyancing Solicitors in Basildon, Ongar, Wickford, London, Rayleigh &Harlow: Just remember that the larger the firm, the more likely it will have complaints. Again, many people end up picking the conveyancer they like without checking with their mortgage provider first which can cause issues. Solicitors may work with The Law Society. Which is why we ...
Dispute Resolver Consultancy - Mediation & Alternative Dispute Resolution ADR in London: We are not a directory just cramming as many high street solicitors as possible into the pages. For example, you might use ADR if you have a dispute with: a neighbour, family or an ex-partner, a company, trader or seller – this is called a consumer problem.
Normally ...
Oakwood Solicitors Ltd & Oakwood Property Solicitors in Leeds: That's much rarer than you might think and indicates a far better chance your solicitor will be directly involved in the case. For example https: solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk organisation offices 470186 oakwood-solicitors-limited-" for this firm< a> you can see details ...
NJS Law in Blackburn: But our opinions are not bought and no firm gets to tell us what to write. So how can you tell whether one firm is better for your needs compared to any others? The wording may often sound great on all the sites. Which is reflected on their website where they state a list ...
SG Murphy & Co Ltd - Solicitors in Newtownabbey, Belfast: They can tell you more about the actual firm and it's priorities compared to a well-crafted sales text on the front page. Watch out for general themes both positive and negative in the reviews as well. Thousands of people have https: www.which.co.uk news article friday-a...
MPG Quantity Surveyors Ltd in London - Chartered Surveyors for Construction Dispute Arbitration: But the RICS do not supply the level of consumer help we see on sites such as The Law Society of England & Wales.
class="infoquote "With no obligation or initial fee, regardless of your location, sector or indeed the type and size of the project, we would be delighte...
MJV & Co Solicitors Ltd - Law Firm in Thornton-Cleveleys, Blackpool: The Facebook reviews were a bit disorganised and not matching up with the star ratings. The last two though could mean a range of things but usually that they've added up all the years of experience of all the staff together.
class="infoquote "call us today for a free...
McCarthy + Co LLP Solicitors in Dublin, Cork & Clonakilty: Even this quote above from the McCarthy & Co site about being award-winners is a claim made by so many of its rivals.
A quick note on navigation should be made with the firm having an 'and' or '+' sign in it's branding. Sometimes simply because they received an offi...
Marsden Rawsthorn Solicitors Ltd in Preston & Chorley: It sounds great. There is no way to see overall reviews and ratings on larger companies as far as we can see. Most firms will use words such as 'modern', 'friendly' and 'professional'.
class="infoquote "Need a quote for a residential conveyancing transaction? Try our...
Mark Croft Driving Offence Solicitor in Derby:
class="infoquote "I have been involved in the criminal justice system for over 28 years."< div>
First is this quote above from Mark Croft's website. There have also been concerted efforts to keep the amount a solicitor can earn helping these financially vulnerab...
Lyons Solicitors - Law Firm in Kingswood, Westbury-on-Trym & Chew Magna (Bristol): But the only way to check up on the quote above is to try and find feedback from previous clients. We help and advise clients throughout Bristol, North and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire."< div>
All this wording aside, though, we want to tell you about ...
LS Legal Solicitors Ltd: Unlike it's Scottish and Irish counterparts, they provide a wealth of consumer information such as alternate contact details, number of qualified staff, languages spoken, case specialties, and even any other brand names used.
class="infoquote "The high standards of o...
UK Divorce Coaches | Things to consider when seeking divorce coaching services in the UK:
If you already have a strong support system and feel in control of the process, you might not need a coach. < li>
QualitySolicitors Large & Gibson - Law Firm in Southsea, Portsmouth: We should point out though, that if a firm only has a handful of reviews it does not mean they are not a good firm. A quick note on navigation. It is HTTPS secure though for submitting your https: www.sessions.edu notes-on-design what-is-https-and-why-is-it-import...
Kee Solicitors Ltd in Glasgow & Aberdeen: So we know a lot of the changes that have occurred and Family Law representation has seen it's fair share of those. But the claims are not unique. But we can confidently state it's not. class="infoquote "Kee Solicitors from the outset was set up to be a modern, tran...
Horsley Law Solicitors in Stafford aka Horsley Holdings Ltd: Pay special attention if the firm you're looking into handles property matters because they are often targeting by fraudsters and https: www.ncsc.gov.uk collection phishing-scams" phishing scams< a>. . They are a limited firm and https: www.sra.org.uk consumers registe...
Heritage Park Family Law Ltd - Barrister Chambers in Ampthill, Bedford: Many amazing firms with a long histories have only a handful or even zero reviews. class="infoquote "We know family law"< div> Luckily there are independent sources to check whether a firm has actual experienced, qualified staff. For law firms there may be far l...
HCR Legal LLP Solicitors Law Firm incl Medical Accident Group in Worcester, Birmingham & Hereford: We highly recommend reading through actual comments left rather than simply flicking through star ratings. You'll also been shown various contact details, office addresses, areas of law they cover, and even languages spoken at each firm. Because on the site it states their ...
Harrison's Solicitors - Conveyancing in Reading, Caversham & Woodley: So you need to be really careful and ensure you are on the correct site because property matters are one of the https: www.lloydsbank.com help-guidance protecting-yourself-from-fraud keep-your-home-safe-mortgage-deposit-scams.html" highest targeted areas of law when it co...
Guardian Law Ltd - Employment & HR Lawyers in Nottingham: To us that indicates the best qualities of a specialist firm in that they genuinely seem to care about businesses by trying to get as much useful advice out there. They were all very positive , but lacking enough comments content to provide a good overview of the fi...
Garden Stirling Burnet Solicitors Ltd in Haddington, Edinburgh, Dunbar, North Berwick & Tranent: Some people have https: www.which.co.uk news article scammers-steal-home-deposits-in-callous-conveyancing-scams-afGcO5t39f7o" handed their entire house deposit< a> to a fraudster's bank account sometimes based on nothing more than an official looking email telling them th...
Goldsmith Bowers Debt Recovery & Litigation Solicitors in Bradford: class="infoquote "Specialists at Commercial Debt Recovery and Litigation"< div> We often get asked whether a smaller specialist firm is better than a large general practice firm. class="infoquote "Our team of industry experts have been brought together t...
Girlings Solicitors LLP & Girlings Personal Injury Claims Ltd in Sandwich, Ashford & Canterbury: They also https: girlingspersonalinjury.co.uk news.php?page=1" share case studies< a> which for some reason many people find facinating on their own. You can read more about that phenomenon local here< a>. Be aware that www.girlings.co.uk is a totally different firm do...
Frei Solicitors Ltd - Luxury Asset Law Firm in London: As you may have noticed if you've flicked through the law firm listings pages of this site, we are not a directory listing every legal practice under the sun across the UK. class="infoquote "extremely clear, concise, practical and courteous" "very happy with the co...
Foster & Coleman Ltd Solicitors in Bromley, Greater London: The site is https secure for submitting your personal details on their contact form. The official website for this firm is www.fosterandcoleman.com and currently www.fosterandcoleman.co.uk does not redirect you. class="infoquote "Legal advice you can depend on, fro...
Farah Family Law Solicitors in Birmingham: The site is HTTPS secure for submitting your personal details through their online contact form. Their web address matches the branding with www.farahfamilylaw.co.uk being the official web address too. The law is not something you can think your way around the problem. Fam...
Eve Lake Conveyancing & Legal Services in Hope Valley: But most variants we tried such as the .com version or evelakeconveyancing.co.uk all returned domains owned by other companies or not at all. Be alert throughout your transaction. Serving clients nationally."< div> That's the tagline for the Eve Lake website which is...
England & Derbyshire LLP Solicitors in Guildford and Woking, Surrey: So always pay attention to which website you are on and who you are discussing your case with.. class="infoquote "Our Family and Matrimonial department is headed by our Solicitor, Madeleine Jones, who has vast experience in handling Divorce, Separation, Child Arrange...
Nero Legal Solicitors Conveyancing Law Firm in Glasgow, Scotland: Our goal is to help people spot differences between firms . However, Google has changed how it displays reviews so you may need to enter the town name for any firm you're trying to research (e.g. Sometimes simply on the basis of one email telling them the bank details had c...
EMD Law LLP Solicitors in Staplehurst & St Leonards-on-Sea: Please note that even if you see a firm touting an ancient date such as 'established in 1881', that has absolutely no bearing on how good the office is today. There's plenty of experience within this law office with solicitor Robert Taylor having qualified in 1977 and Eliz...
EDC Lord & Co Solicitors in Southall: This is an excellent way for potential clients to get to know the lawyers at EDC Lord and determine whether they have the experience and expertise needed to handle their legal matter. Far too many people https: www.theguardian.com money 2019 aug 24 the-45000-deposit-for-ou...
Eatons Solicitors in Bradford, Bingley, Yeadon & Leeds West Yorkshire: So how can you tell whether the firm, or your individual solicitor, has a good level of experience?
class="infoquote "Each of our partners brings a wealth of knowledge and unique expertise"< div>
The firm does have a https: www.eatons-solicitors.co.uk our-pa...
Drummond Miller LLP Solicitors in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bathgate, Musselburgh, Dalkeith & East Kilbride: That may sound like something you would never fall for.
A quick but important note on navigation though. Many companies across all industries provide customer testimonials on their site.
class="infoquote "Words can’t express our gratitude for your kindness"...
Defank Solicitors in London: The website of The Law Society of England & Wales has a wealth of data for users to see the trading names, contact addresses, areas of expertise, staff, and more of any firm registered with them. It is really important to note exactly where you should be going and the offi...
CWJ Solicitors & Notaries - Clarkson Wright & Jakes Ltd in Orpington, Kent: If you look up a dozen or so law firms that handle property matters, you'll find most of them have negative comments.
class="infoquote "We are committed to delivering expert legal advice and excellent client service."< div>
The main place people turn to in order...
Cullimore Dutton Solicitors Ltd - Conveyancing & Legal Services in Chester: One firm may say "established in 1881" while another says "40 years of experience". The firm's branding is Cullimore Dutton (not Cullimore and Dutton) which are two unique names so nearly all misspellings we tried brought up the same firm in a search. We've genuinely never s...
Crockett & Co Family Law Solicitors in Leeds: The Law Society of England & Wales lists most firms providing their contact information, areas of law covered, and a list of registered solicitors within the firm.
The fact https: www.gov.uk legal-aid eligibility" legal aid< a> does not pay anything close to what a...
Cook Legal Ltd Law Firm in Wirral, Merseyside:
A quick note on navigation.
Most law firms will be able to cover much larger areas . We provide expert personal legal services throughout the Wirral Peninsula and North West England."< div>
That's the first paragraph from the website of law firm Cook Le...
Calio Claims Ltd - Personal Injury in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth & Dundee: The office details for each location are the same. You'd be amazed at the number of law firms with 5 star reviews for their new menu or 1 star reviews for the poor parking in the town centre. That's why we always recommend people read the actual comments and never just fli...
Buchanan & Co Ltd Solicitors in Staveley, Chesterfield, Kiveton Park & Sheffield: So certainly their claims of decades of experience are well backed up .
The page for Buchanan & Co Solicitors shows solicitors Timothy Barlow as having qualified in 1989 and Julia Gibbons in 2001. But this is true for most reviews about law firms and is something you...
Brodies LLP Solicitors in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh & Inverness Scotland: Since Brodies Solicitors LLP has registered an office in London, you can see all the details about this Scottish firm on the English Welsh legal professionals database. Not many will be able to boast these sorts of numbers.
class="infoquote "Our unique perspectives h...
Bridge McFarland LLP - Solicitors in Grimsby, Hull, Lincoln, Louth, and Market Rasen:
This is hugely important because the firm deals with property matters which have been https: www.lloydsbank.com help-guidance protecting-yourself-from-fraud keep-your-home-safe-mortgage-deposit-scams.html" the target of scammers for many years now< a>.
cla...
Brian Barr Solicitors Ltd Chronic Pain & Fibromyalgia Compensation in Manchester: So while the case list handled by the firm as a whole may be huge, your assigned solicitor may only handle one or two of those areas of law. This firm, like many others, provides customer testimonials on their website:
class="infoquote "Highly recommend this firm fo...
Scotland Injury Solicitors from Baker Hardman Ltd in Glasgow: Hopefully they will get their butts in gear and catch up to the English Welsh version soon. The Law Society of England & Wales has an excellent user side database for people to research legal service providers. So what are people saying on the comment forums?
class=...
Backhouse Solicitors in Chelmsford, Essex: This includes Minal Backhouse who qualified in 1997, Clare Sheeran in 2001, Nathan Gray in 2018, right up to Sarina Hayes in 2020.
class="infoquote "Book your free 30 - minute Consultation"< div>
We're still very surprised that this offer from Backhouse's solici...
Amy King Legal - Personal Injury & Litigation Solicitor in Gillingham, Kent:
class="infoquote "We represent each claim individually and invest our very best minds in every case we take on."< div> < br>
This is often the centre of the argument between using a large or small firm to handle your case. We've watched utterly confident large ...
ACSL Solicitors Ltd in Liverpool: Some firms provide staff profile pages which we think aren't just a good side offering, but essential these days. All of these statements sound great. That's nearly a century of experience between them.
class="infoquote "We are transparent about our prices – they...
A City Law Firm Ltd in London:
Plus with all the phishing scams still going on always make sure you're on the correct website and never discuss payment details via email. We've seen a lawyer with a 5 star review for their 'new italian menu' and a 1 star rating for a Criminal Law specialist for re...
Two Harcourt Buildings Chambers - 2HB Barristers in London:
On the Bar Standards Board's site you can't always look up by overall firm name and even when you do find a page on an individual chamber's member the information is certainly not layman-friendly. These variant firms are separate teams of barristers despite sharing the...