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Backhouse Solicitors in Chelmsford, Essex:
You would think that the development of the internet and every company having a full website about themselves with dozens of third party resources to provide independent information etc. etc. etc. would make researching and choosing the right firm for you far more simple and sure.
That certainly seemed to be true in the early days, but sadly Google's unchallenged buyout of the internet has caused the web to jam pack itself with information that is sometimes barely relevant to what you're looking for simply to get your eyes diverted for a few moments. It's also pushed many law firms to create hundreds of pages on their website to try and get listed at least somewhere for some search term you might type in. That's a lot of space to have to fill with words.
Today we're obviously reviewing Backhouse Solicitors. It's a firm we've worked with for many years but I hope that if you've read even just a few of our other review articles - you'll realise we don't let anything cloud the editorial reports of firms. We always explain and backup anything we cover in this series of articles which is aimed at helping people find the right tools and frame of reference when choosing a firm.
To start us off we're going to be critical of the statement above taken from the firm's own website. Not in a nasty way about the actual text. But it does highlight some issues when searching for a legal practice to help you. Because whilst every word in that sentence sounds great - most firms say the exact same thing so it doesn't really help you distinguish one firm from another. i.e. No firm will ever claim to be antiquated, backward thinking, with no expertise and offering low levels of service.
When we are researching a firm it's actually this sort of statement which catches our eye. Not because of the very old founding date. But because Backhouse Solicitors have NOT make a fuss about it. We've stated many times in other articles how a firm promoting their 100+ year old brand name as some sort of definitive proof of their talents proves nothing.
The founding date of a firm is utterly meaningless and usually tenous. You can get a 1-year newbie solicitor from a 200-year-old firm and a 40 year veteran lawyer from a 1-year-old law practice brand. So the fact Backhouse have only mentioned this statement tucked away on a separate section of the site is something we literally nod our heads in approval at.
We've long praised The Law Society of England & Wales for their user side provided data which is simply unmatched by their Scottish and Irish counterparts. (That's mighty praise from our Scottish firm!) It means that when you see statements like this (above) on a lawyer's website you can actually verify their claims about expertise and experience.
If you check the page for this firm you'll see any alternate brand names, contact details, SRA authorisation, and most importantly the qualification dates and specialist areas of each registered solicitor within the firm. This includes Minal Backhouse who qualified in 1997, Clare Sheeran in 2001, Nathan Gray in 2018, right up to Sarina Hayes in 2020. That's solicitors joining the profession in each of the last four decades. A decent mix of seasoned professionals with young blood which you'd hope to see in any professional services firm.
Rather than disecting every word on the firm's site like we do, most consumers immediately turn to third party review boards when they want to research a firm. Those are certainly useful when wanting to backup the claims of happy clients. Backhouse Solicitors actually display several of their Google reviews on their own website. Are they cherry picking?
"extremely diligent and responsive, usually replying to emails within 5 minutes"
"Their replies to my queries were both timely and accurate"
"The Backhouse team look after employment law for our company, which has been an excellent resource for us"
Those are snippets from the independent boards which also are covered with positive reviews. Note that you may need to enter the full name plus location of a firm (e.g. 'backhouse solicitors chelmsford') when searching to get the correct reviews to pop up because sometimes if a firm has a name similar to serveral others Google will return no reviews despite there being plenty.
At the time of writing this firm had 295 reviews on Google alone. Not only is that an extraordinary number of reviews for a UK law firm, but the fact they handle conveyancing and have an average star rating of 4.9 is also quite unheard of. Without devaluing their acheivement, we should point out why this is unusual. Because if you see a rival firm with only 5 reviews that's actually 'normal'. Whilst many people are happy to post about a pizza they've just ordered, most do not wish to discuss their messy divorce, bankruptcy, or life changing injury claim so publicly.
It is also very common for firms who deal with property to have terrible reviews. This is because there is always delays, complications, and sometimes complete failure but with both sides continually unhappy with the other. It's very common to see negative reviews from the other side of the transaction, not actual clients. So just bear this in mind when checking up on any firm. Always read comments, not glance at star ratings.
We're still very surprised that this offer from Backhouse's solicitors is something we can praise. We would have thought by now that all law firms would offer free consulations but it's still something many resist. So when you see offers like this, don't just pass it over as something innocuous. An actual sit down with an experienced solicitor to talk for free before deciding to go ahead is rarer than we think it should be.
A quick note on navigation though. As mentioned above Duffield Stunt Solicitors has merged into Backhouse Solicitors Ltd with the official site being the hyphenated and https protected www.backhouse-solicitors.co.uk However both www.backhousesolicitors.co.uk and the .com will redirect you there. These redirects are an important service we think not enough lawyers pay attention to in order to protect their clients. This is because of the huge number of scams currently out there.
The most common are those targeting property buyers and sellers due to the massive amounts possible to be scammed. People have handed over tens of thousands in home deposits to fraudulent bank accounts sometimes based on nothing more than an official-looking email stating the payment details have changed. Always check you're on the correct site and don't be afraid to call the official number you have for the firm if anything sounds even slightly suspicious.
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General Notes: Legal Aid availability changes constantly, so ask up front. If you are looking for a career with Backhouse Solicitors it's best to visit the website (www.backhouse-solicitors.co.uk) and locate the correct phone/email contact details. Any quoted here will be for potential clients. Alternating or adding words such as Backhouse Solicitors Ltd may bring up different background/reviews on the firm. Each firm's Law Society and/or SRA number should be on their site too.