Results for Beers LLP:
Beers LLP - Solicitors in Kingsbridge & Plymouth, Devon:
If you've read through any of our other law firm cover articles, you'll hopefully know that we do our best to write unbiased information. It's true the majority of firms we write about are going to receive fairly positive comments because we've already vetted them for addition to our search database. However that doesn't mean we ignore flaws or hide negative press when we find it.
Unfortunately that needed to be said because there isn't much negative about Beers LLP for us to focus on. This article is therefore going to sound quite 'pro' their firm, making it look almost like something they wrote themselves and paid us to publish. That is not the case.
We're not a fan of these ancient establishment dates provided by firms as a way to intimate they have far more experience and knowledge within their law office simply because they can trace their branding back a few hundred years. It's very common for solicitors to do this. But you can always end up with a 1-year-qualified lawyer from the 200-year-old firm in the same way you could be provided a 40-year-guru lawyer from a 1-year-old legal practice.
So how can you tell if a firm has a good amount of experience if the founding dates are not a good point of reference? Luckily in England & Wales the Law Society has an excellent website with loads of good user-side data available. If you check out the page for the firm you're interested in you'll be able to see other office locations that might be closer to you, any alternate trading names, languages spoken by staff, and so on.
Most importantly you're able to quantify statements like the above by seeing each individual solicitor's qualification date into the legal profession, as well as their chosen areas of law. For example at Beers you'll see solicitors such as Paul Housego who qualified in 1978, Richard Jones (qualified 1996), Helen O'Leary (2009), and Sonia Hems (2011). Alongside their co-workers, the firm as a whole has a decent mix of seasoned professionals with some fresher legs and ideas.
The Law Society database also lets you see if a firm really does 'specialise' in your case type. Whilst most of the time people may think of specialist firms as handling only one area of law such as Criminal or Divorce matters - these days it is very common for a firm to cover a wider range of case types but simply have individual solicitors within the group assigned to their own expertise.
The most common resource people use when judging the merits of any service provider is usually the customer reviews. We would really recommend reading the reviews through, though, rather than just relying on star ratings when it comes to law firms. Unlike hairdressers or restaurants, law firms can end up with negative reviews from the side they beat in a case. They also get a lot of weird negative comments, such as people complaining a criminal law firm won't handle the person's divorce case.
"Always accessible for any queries or advice"
"This was a much better experience than I have had with bigger firms in the past"
"Both ladies professional, sympathetic listeners, excellent straightforward advice and guidance"
Those are snippets from the testimonials Beers LLP have posted on their own website. However, we ran a poll last year and only 8% of you responded that you trust company provided testimonials. This is understandable because seeing any negative reviews can often reveal a lot about a firm. If there are several negative comments related to being uncontactable - that's a good thing to note. So how do Beers' solicitors fair in the public forums?
"Efficient, straightforward and good value"
"prompt friendly and reliable"
"kept us updated throughout, prompt and responsive"
Those are snippets from the independent boards such as Google, Facebook, Trustpilot, and so on. Very positive with many of them quoting and praising the staff member involved by name. A lot of comments about friendliness and speed. The only negative comment we saw was a complaint about a solicitor called 'Monty'. But we didn't see such a solicitor named as working at this firm. Again, a very good reason to read the comments fully first.
A quick note on navigation as whilst the firm's name is quite unique, it could potentially peek a little into generic term issues. The official website we link to above is www.beersllp.com but www.beersllp.co.uk does not redirect you there. Obviously alternatives such as www.beers.com or .co.uk bring up beverage related websites and none of the beerllp variants were owned by anyone. The branding is always Beers LLP but searches such as 'beers solicitors' or 'beer llp' still brought the correct firm to the top of the results.
The site is https secure for submitting your personal information in the contact forms. The reason you need to be aware of potential issues is because there are lot of scams going around just now targeting case types where clients have to pay large lump sums - such as property matters. Sadly thousands of people have handed their life savings over to fraudsters simply because they received an email telling them the bank details for their house deposit had changed. Make sure you know what site you're on and never discuss payments via email.
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General Notes: Legal Aid availability changes constantly, so ask up front. If you are looking for a career with Beers LLP it's best to visit the website (www.beersllp.com) and locate the correct phone/email contact details. Any quoted here will be for potential clients. Alternating or adding words such as Beers Solicitors LLP may bring up different background/reviews on the firm. Each firm's Law Society and/or SRA number should be on their site too.