More Info on Helix Law Ltd - Solicitors in Brighton & Eastbourne:
Recently we've started seeking out more specialist firms to try and save people the hassle of phoning a firm that says they do personal injury, only to find out they don't do 'that' kind of injury. We've even come across a Motor Offence solicitor that won't touch any case where the client is facing less than a full-on ban.
In our opinion, far too many firms spend the bulk of their website pages talking about awards no-one has ever heard of, the 200-year-history of their firm, and listing catchphrases such as no win, no fee which many people still don't fully understand. If people are reading the firm's website, the first thing they want to know is - 'do you handle my case?' Helix Law does have a similar style intro to most firms:
However the majority of the front page contains clear lists about what they do, who they do it for, and other useful information such as what payment structures are available.
Typically we don't recommend most law firm's Blogs as they are often simply for the sake of having one. It's as if a website can't be considered 'official' unless you have a bunch of articles no-one ever reads. This is because the articles are mostly written by the firm's marketing staff rather than a seasoned professional at the firm taking time out fo their schedule to try and provide free help to the public. This inevitably results in those articles being thin on content, but packed with extra sales pitches about the firm.
Helix Law's article section on the other hand does seem to have a large number of articles aimed at the general consumer. We actually ended up reading their insolvency case study, the 1-month tenancy contract warning, and the smash and grab adjudication pieces. Why is that of note? Because any effort to provide free information to people is a good indication of a firm's general mindset. A quality, carefully presented FAQs section for example is sadly a rarity. So yes, the fact Helix Law have taken the time to produce such pieces is a positive indication.
What are other people saying about the firm? Most people would agree that the testimonials which companies display on their websites are usually quite different from the comments you'd see posted on third party review sites. Here are some snippets from Helix Law's site. Please note, the spelling and typo errors are copy/pasted directly:
"I was very impresses with the fast and helpful advise I received from Phoebe Gunputh at Helix Law. I had an urgent matter that I needed advise on and Phoebe was a great help. I would not hesitate to recommend them."
"Avery approachable and helpful company - I called out of the blue to get some general advice and potentially line up some work with Helix Law. I spoke to Laura Albon who helped talk through my situation and offered some valuable thoughts."
There are various ways in which firms obtain testimonials. Some will directly ask customers to provide something in writing using a 'customer feedback questionnaire' after the case has finished. Some may simply take comments made in emails/letters the client has submitted - unsolicited. Or they may actually copy/paste positive comments made on other forums such as Google, Trustpilot, Yell.com or Yelp. Typically if there are grammatical errors and spelling mistakes - the reviews have been sourced from the latter.
Although we call review sites independent, that doesn't mean they can't have issues with fakery. Both with firms trying to boost their own image, and with competitors trying to sabotage others. If you're concerned that a firm's reviews sound too good to be true - one of the simplest ways to spot fake reviews is if the majority of 5 star reviewers have only ever written that one review, whilst the negative comments come from people with dozens of reviews under their belt. The majority of Helix Law's positive reviews are from people that have reviewed a wide range of firms indicating they are most likely genuine. It's not a foolproof system and there are other ways to spot fake reviews which we'll be covering in a more in depth articled to be rolled out shortly.
"very friendly and approachable, listened carefully to my concerns and gave me detailed advice on what my next steps should be"
"acted very professional from the start in what was quite a stressful situation for me"
The majority of the positive reviews were like these example snippets and tended to focus around the firm's helpfulness, in that they will absolutely discuss your case at length and even offer free advice if they deem it's not something a solicitor is required to deal with. Again, this is rarer than you would think and another very positive point for Helix Law as a firm that goes beyond.
A quick note on navigation because, as you can see, the official website of the firm is hyphenated - www.helix-law.co.uk - with the www.helixlaw.co.uk version linking to a totally different firm. www.helix-law.com certainly redirects to the UK version, but www.helixlaw.com is owned by someone else. Just with this alone we would highly recommend bookmarking the correct website once you're on it. Scammers and Phishers will purchase similar looking domains when trying to trick people into handing over personal details. If you factor in possible common errors we've already seen such as 'helixlegal', 'helixsolicitors' and even more once you start on hyphens - it's not worth the risk. Even on search engines you may find one word extra or wrong will bring up quite different results. Not to mention more than half the first results page is adverts anyway.
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General Notes: Legal Aid availability changes constantly, so ask up front. If you are looking for a career with Helix Law Ltd it's best to visit the website (www.helix-law.co.uk) and locate the correct phone/email contact details. Any quoted here will be for potential clients. Searching for Helix Law Solicitors may bring up extra background on the firm if you are interested. Each firm's Law Society and/or SRA number should be on their site too.