How to find good solicitors?

[DrJarStar]

Moderator Message:
RS: Moved from DAK since the second half might benefit from review here. Shadow left at DAK

I need to find a new firm of good solicitors, preferably in Oxford. Is there a review site or suchlike that anyone could recommend? I have looked at trustpilot and reviewsolicitors.co.uk and solicitor.info but so few of the solicitors have reviews that it's hard to judge whether these sites are meaningful at all. And the reviews all tend to be either 5 stars or 1 star! Also I can't decide whether, without a personal recommendation, it is better to go for a bigger 'regional/national' type firm or stick with a smaller more local one. Any ideas? I don't think the work would be complicated. I just need a general solicitor who can advise me as a private client on things like wills, trusts, conveyancing, etc.

As background, I'll explain a little what has provoked this request. I am currently using the small-town solicitors that my parents used for the last 30 years but now there is a conflict of interest and they would like me to get 'independent advice'. They act as the solicitors for the will trust set up by my mother's will of which my brother (who lives overseas) and I are the trustees. I, in a personal capacity, would like to 'lend' the will trust some money. The situation is the will trust owns a house in which a former employee (FE) of my mother's has a lifetime interest. At the moment the FE has the rent from this house but now he is retiring and it would be better for him to use the house as his home. However, the current house really wouldn't suit his needs and we all agree that it would be more sensible to sell this house and buy a different house for the FE. However, the new house would cost more than the value of the current house, hence need to add some more money; the final ratio would be about 75:25. My current solicitors will act for me as a trustee but they require me to get independent advice for my role as the 'lender'. I will be taking a charge on the new property.

Thanks for any advice.

[Clitheroekid]

As with most things the best way of choosing a solicitor is word of mouth. Unfortunately these days that's becoming less common as people prefer to rely on supposedly independent review sites.

I personally place little trust in review sites. They may be OK in helping you to choose a toaster or even a restaurant, but good legal advice is too important to use this method.

I understand that people are apparently 10 times more likely to post a review if they're unhappy than if they're happy. However, it's a hazard of legal practice that many people don't like the advice they've received as it doesn't coincide with their own views of their case, and they will often make quite unjustified criticisms for that reason.

It's also the case that it's extremely easy to post fake reviews, both good and bad.

The solicitors you've already dealt with may be able to recommend a firm. Particularly in a small town solicitors tend to deal with the other local solicitors on a regular basis, and can make a pretty good assessment of them.

Also I can't decide whether, without a personal recommendation, it is better to go for a bigger 'regional/national' type firm or stick with a smaller more local one. Any ideas?

Although I'm obviously biased I would say that for reasonably everyday work a small firm will often be the better choice. Large firms tend to concentrate on commercial work, as that's where the money is. Although there are large `private client' firms they tend to only be interested in wealthy clients - or High Net Worth Individuals as they're now known.

If the work is very technical and/or there's a significant sum of money involved (at least £1m) then it may be worth going to such a firm. They do usually provide very high quality advice, but it can be like employing a Ferrari dealer to service your VW.

The main disadvantage of using a large firm is that they are expensive. They usually have smart offices in expensive areas and the partners expect to (and do) make a lot of money - at least several hundred thousand a year - and this is reflected in their charges.

A second disadvantage is that you are likely to get fobbed off with a junior fee-earner unless you're wealthy enough to attract (and pay for) the attention of a partner. In fact, the fee-earner that's allocated to you may only be a trainee or may even have no legal qualifications at all. You're much more likely to be seen by a senior solicitor in a small firm, simply because they don't generally delegate work to the same extent.

Many people will say that you need a member of STEP for work like this. If it's extremely complicated work then it may well be good advice, but the large majority of solicitors who practise in the area of Wills, probate, trusts and so on are not STEP members. This doesn't at all reflect on their competence. To some extent STEP membership is a marketing device. A good solicitor doesn't advertise, as they have no need to, and many highly competent trusts and probate solicitors would never apply for STEP membership as they and their clients simply don't require any external validation to prove their worth.

Likewise, don't be impressed by the Law Society Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme. The Law Society are one of the worst bureaucracies on earth, and they absolutely love dopey schemes like this. Much like the equally dopey Conveyancing Quality Scheme it gives an entirely false impression. Some of the worst firms I've ever dealt with have their websites plastered with these silly badges. All they mean is that some years ago someone at the firm managed to fill in a series of forms properly and is willing to pay the Law Society an annual fee for a shiny little badge.

It's a bit like the dreadful `Quality Solicitors' brand - if you have to tell people you're a `quality' firm the inference is that they would never have realised it otherwise!

I'm not sure if my ramblings will be of much assistance, but if they only help to steer you away from some traps they will have served their purpose.

[DrJarStar]

Wow, CK! Thanks so much for your thoughts. It is very much along the lines I was thinking but, as I'm not connected to the profession in any way, I wasn't sure whether my own misconceptions were getting in the way. I won't be bothering with review sites in future! I have asked my current solicitors whether they are able to recommend someone but haven't as yet heard anything back from them. It seems like I should go back to the tried and tested method of asking friends for recommendations. Unfortunately, everyone I've asked locally so far uses my current solicitors!

I specified Oxford in my original post as, although I don't live there at present, I am hoping to move there within the next couple of years and it's not so far from where I'm currently based. Any recommendations, anyone?

Anyway, thanks once again. I'm sure your advice will be helpful to everyone.