Reid Black Solicitors: Info
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Reid Black Solicitors Ltd in Belfast, Antrim & Ballyclare: Review
We only started reviewing and writing about law firms in Northern Ireland about half a dozen years ago. Having started back in 1999, we obviously put more focus on building up a database of firms based on higher population areas first. Northern Ireland, like much of here in the celtic-relative land of Scotland, has a couple of large population centres with most others spread out about.
Reid Black were one of the first firms we approached. That doesn't mean we are bias for the sake of it. It simply means that when we researched the firm at the time they came up as being a good firm, covering a good range, with little or no complaints registered on forums or with the relevant organisations. We'd like to share some bits and pieces that stood out.
Every single legal practice has a website these days with various catchphrases and sales-pitch sentences like this one. No firm is ever going to state 'we are brand new with not much experience and most of us just barely passed qualification' - are they? So how can you tell marketing jargon from verifiable claims?
A good starting point is to check with the Law Society the firm is registered with. Most solicitors will register with a Law Society even though it is not mandatory. This is very different from the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) and we're putting together an article to explain the difference better. But for now, if you take a look at the page for this firm on The Law Society of England & Wales' website you'll see contact details, areas of practice, links to staff information, qualification dates of solicitors within the firm, and more.
Whilst not actually based in England/Wales, Reid Black will inevitably deal with a lot of other law firms, insurers and businesses in that area. So being registered with the local law society is completely understandable. The Law Society of England & Wales also have a much better website than most Law Societies, with a wealth of user-side information. If you compare it to the page about this firm on the Northern Ireland Law Society website I think you might agree.
Often the things that impress us most on a law firms' site are things they themselves don't seem to consider important enough to expound on as much as we'd like. In this case, Reid Black do more than just have a-bit-of-expertise in Military Claims. For a start, Military Claims are a much rarer case type to be taken on by most personal injury handling firms. Alongside Criminal Injuries, Untraced Drivers and Medical Negligence matters - Military Claims can take a long time, be less likely to suceed, and pay out much less for both the client and the solicitor.
We stand by our statement that if you see a firm that really only seems to want people with whiplash injuries from a Road Accident (e.g. they don't even mention your claim type on the front page of their website or in the dropdown menu of their information pages) - then you may be better off going elsewhere to a firm that does seem to actively want such types of cases. Reid Black clearly want to help people seek redress over such Military matters. They also sponsor and support the local veterans football team 'The Comrades' which we recommend you read about here
Again, most law firms will state on their site that their customer service is exceptional and that the client is the centre of all they do. Quite often this is not reflected in the public reviews of those firms. So how do Reid Black Solicitors stack up on independent boards?
"Highly experienced staff have helped me massively"
"Case was resolved quickly, handled with sensitivity and professionalism"
"impressed by the high standard of service offered by this Firm"
These snippets are from the usual sites such as Google, Yell.com, Yelp and Trustpilot. The majority are all like this and very positive. We did see one negative comment about Reid Black apparently being more expensive than other firms the reviewer had tried. But even that still had a 5 star rating and ended with a bit about how the extra expense seemed worth it in the end.
It should be mentioned that Reid Black have moved away from the usual Testimonials page on their own site and actually list their Google reviews directly on the front page. This is a great move because as our poll last year showed, most people don't trust company created testimonial pages anyway. So by showing reviews from a third party site and linking to that site so people can check the comments are by real people (e.g. they've posted general reviews elsewhere as well) - it provides a good dollop of veracity to the whole thing.
To clarify - every law firm that deals with personal injury matters should provide you with a completely free case run under a no win, no fee arrangement. But Reid Black state they will give you a free interview for 'any legal issue' which is a lot less common than you might think. Many firms will either charge a reduced price for an initial interview or give you a very reduced free section of time such as 15-30 mins before starting to charge.
All these together hopefully show why we thought Reid Black Solicitors were a good match for our network. A quick note on navigation though. Obviously there could be mis-spellings of the Reid part with the whole 'i' before 'e' thing many of us still have stuck in our heads from school. We've also seen many people searching for 'reid and black solicitors' or 'reid black & co solicitors'. Some of which have been past names but their current registered company name is Reid Black Solicitors Ltd. The official site we link to above is www.reidblack.com with www.reidblack.co.uk not currently showing anything at all. None of the mis-spellings or full branding domains such as www.reidblacksolicitors.com / .co.uk seemed to be showing anything either.
As the firm deals with property matters, it is therefore hugely important that you pay close attention to the website you are on and the types of emails you receive. Millions of pounds a year are being handed over to scammers for the most mundane of tricks such as emails seeming to come from an official-looking address. Never discuss bank details or payments via email.
One last clip from the firm's own website showing a further service they offer that many firms no longer help with:
General Notes: Usually if Legal Aid is possible we've mentioned it above, but you can always ask. We haven't looked in depth at their recruitment program so are unaware of any job vacancies available. For a career with Reid Black Solicitors it's best to visit the website (www.reidblack.com), check opening hours, and find the correct phone/email contact details. Simply emailing a CV to reception looks lazy. Each law firm's Law Society and/or SRA number should be on their site, usually at the bottom of each page.
This Reid Black Solicitors article is rated
4.6 / 5 based on 17 reviews. †
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