Results for Summerfield Browne Solicitors:
Summerfield Browne Solicitors in London, Birmingham, Cambridge, Oxford, Market Harborough & Leicester:
We've written many articles on what to look for in a law firm to make sure you get legal advice from the best match to your needs. Today's is going to discuss Summerfield Browne Solicitors as they have an alternate setup which they've run for many years but which is now becoming more popular since Covid.
For many the term 'Solicitor' still brings up the image of an old building in the centre of town and old men in old dusty wigs. You may be surprised in this day and age to learn that there are still hundreds of such firms about the UK with antiquated views on women in the workplace and even an aversion to the internet. We've been working in the legal industry for over 20 years so have met plenty on the way.
Unfortunately this statement on the Summerfield Browne website is one that you'll probably have already seen on a dozen others you've flicked through today on your search for legal help. Most firms will say they are modern with a unique setup. For some, the fact they use email sometimes is the pinnacle of their 'modern' achievements. So is this firm any different?
Obviously we think 'yes' as you can tell from our opener about them being a leading firm using a setup that is now increasingly common. When Covid hit many companies across all industries realised they can do the job just as easily from their own home office rather than going into a specific location. This has the obviously knock on effect:
One of the things we try to provide at 1to1Legal is a balance between a wide selection of legal assistance options, but as local to you as possible if you so wish. Summerfield Browne are therefore a prime match of what we need on our own law network. Rather than several lawyers all working within the same town - they have office based staff but also a team of home-working legal professionals spread across England.
Many still might prefer that official office visit when it comes to legal matters, but for businesses that might need to check in with their solicitor several times a year over various commercial law matters - utilising the time-saving technology of video chat is not just an option, but an absolute necessity.
But a good setup isn't even half the battle when finding the best firm for you. The law advice you get needs to be spot on as well. How do you check that? The best resource we've found so far online is the website for The Law Society of England & Wales. They provide far, far more than any of their rival organisations on the user side including office locations, aka business names, alternative contact details, and most importantly - the qualification dates and areas of law each solicitor within a firm specialises in.
If you check the information for this firm you'll see a range of experience spanning the last four decades including Lynn Emery who qualified as a solicitor in 1988, Christian Browne in 1997, Maxine Johnson in 2004, right up to Zainab Zaeem-Sattar in 2019. A mix of seasoned professional alongside fresh legs. Sounds like the best of both worlds. Does that translate into happy clients?
"good at giving cost efficient ways of managing the claim"
"a pleasure to work with"
Normally we don't bother to include testimonials from the firm's own website because in our last poll only 9% of you said you trusted such reviews. However, since this firm handles business matters as well we gave them a little more weight as the company's own brand is stated behind their praise. Plus, for the public boards things can get a little more complicated.
"Listened to my contractual issue and dealt with it in a timely manner"
"helped me with car purchase dispute received excellent service"
These are some snippets from the main independent boards such as Google, Trustpilot, Yell, etc. On the whole they are positive, however in the case of Google you have to type in each individual location (e.g. 'summerfield browne birmingham') to get reviews only on that office rather than the firm as a whole. The firm states offices in London, Birmingham, Cambridge, Oxford, Market Harborough, and Leicester.
The public reviews themselves are sometimes not very helpful either. For example whilst Cambridge has a full 5 stars, the London office has only 3.5 stars at the time we checked. However if you actually read through the comments you see one reviewer stating "I have provided them with amazing pension advice" which seems like an advert for their own company plus several one star reviews within the space of a week with no explanation attached. We've always said to ignore average ratings and always read comments. This is a very good example of why.
There is quite a bit of information on Summerfield Browne's site including staff profiles but obviously speaking to the person that will be dealing with your case is the most likely way to discover a good match. Hopefully we will see all law firms offer free initial consultations in the future, even just 30 mins over video chat. We've been hoping that for many years and it's getting there.
On the subject of the site, the official address is www.summerfieldbrowne.com but other tlds we tried such as www.summerfieldbrowne.co.uk did not redirect there. With the number of typical typos possible amongst 'summer field and brown solicitors' it's important to make sure you're on the correct website. Most of the variants we tried brought up the correct site in the top search results spot but many brought up adverts for other firms. Plus, errors in the web bar may take you to a totally different site. A risk highlighted in many news articles about scams such as phishing.
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General Notes: Legal Aid availability changes constantly, so ask up front. If you are looking for a career with Summerfield Browne Solicitors it's best to visit the website (www.summerfieldbrowne.com) and locate the correct phone/email contact details. Any quoted here will be for potential clients. Alternating or adding words such as Summerfield Browne may bring up different background/reviews on the firm. Each firm's Law Society and/or SRA number should be on their site too.