Results for Woodstock Legal Services:
Woodstock Legal Services Ltd - Solicitors Law Practice in Poole:
Having worked in the legal industry for over 20 years we're still surprised to come across some firms that we'd not heard of before. In any industry there are obviously those firms that thrive on publicity and who like seeing their logo everywhere. They brag about their ancient foundation dates and the number of offices.
So when we came across Woodstock Legal Services it was a pleasant surprise to discover their setup, staff, and backgrounds could match some of the larger brandings we work with (and many we don't). Clearly we ended up with a positive impression of their law practice otherwise we would not have added them to our network. But please read on and see if you would agree.
Unfortunately there is often a lot of sales-pitchy language on any law firm's website. If you've already been through a few dozen today it's likely you've seen every single one of them make the claim quoted above from Woodstock's. It stands to reason though. It's not as if any firm is going to claim the opposite - i.e. 'we are unapproachable, confusing, and slow'. So which claims and imagery should you look for?
For people in England and Wales they are lucky to have The Law Society there provide a huge amount of user side data. We highly recommend checking any firm you're considering against their information. If you check the page for this firm you'll see any alternative business names used, all office addresses, case specialities, but also the qualification dates for any solicitors.
Whilst there is a definite 'perfect professional' curve between experience and age, the fact this firm has qualified people from across the last five decades is clearly a good sign. You'll see Peter Fowler qualified in 1974, Roger Clayson in 1981, Nichola Turpin in 2009, Carly Jermyn in 2010, right up to Rebecca Newton in 2017. A mix of seasoned heads on fresh legs.
The normal first port of call for most people though is the public review boards such as Google, Yelp, Trustpilot, Yell, etc. Whilst many firms, including Woodstock Legal, have testimonials on their websites - they majority of people tend to ignore them. Our poll a few years back resulted in only 8% of you saying you even read them.
"kept fully updated along the way as well as offering great advice"
"communication of where we were at with the process was crisp and timely"
Those are few snippets from testimonials on the firm's site. In most review articles we don't bother including them for the reasons just stated. However on this occasion we have because they are not just hand-picked and solicited client remarks but actual comments from industry peers who have worked with the firm. Commentaries from other businesses willing to stamp their approval have more weight in our opinion. So, do the independent review boards reflect this positivity?
"very professional, yet friendly"
"so helpful during entire process, and went out of her way to make everything as easy as possible"
There are quite a large number of reviews to go through on the various forums and the majority are positive like these few snippets above. Make sure to actually read the comments though and not just flick through star ratings. We've seen lawyers rated 5 stars for their great new menu and a divorce specialist given 1 star for refusing to take a criminal defence case.
There are several other things that stood out to us about this firm as well such as the professional team pages showing staff profiles. They include direct contact information and work history details of each staff member which is perfect. Some law firms list hobbies, pets names, and even favourite colours which we think is not only pointless, but a little off putting on a serious legal services site. Woodstock also have a range of badges/logo across the bottom of each page such as ILEX, The Legal 500, Law Society Accreditions, and more.
A quick word on navigation. Woodstock Legal Services is a trading name of Woodstock Legal Services Limited so not too much confusion there. The current official website is www.woodstocklegalservices.co.uk but www.woodstocklegalservices.com does not currently redirect. With three words 'woodstock', 'legal' and 'services' there an many variables possible but all we checked such as www.woodstocklegal.co.uk were not active. There was also only one similarly named firm of Woodstock Solicitors.
This is important to note because this firm handles conveyancing which has been the subject of huge amounts of scams in recent years. People have been handing tens of thousands of pounds in deposits to fraudsters simply on the basis of one official-looking email stating the bank details for payment have changed. So always makes sure you're on the correct site 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 Woodstock Legal Services it's best to visit the website (www.woodstocklegalservices.co.uk) and locate the correct phone/email contact details. Any quoted here will be for potential clients. Alternating or adding words such as Woodstock Legal Services 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.