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Hugh James

1.9 | 28 Reviews 28 Reviews | Immigration Law
152 Total Company Reviews info icon Immigration Law | info icon 152 Total Company Reviews Immigration Law | info icon 152 Total Company Reviews

2 Charlotte Place, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 0TB

Accepting new clients

2 Charlotte Place, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 0TB

Regulated by:

The Solicitors Regulation Authority

Regulator ID: 819581

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Hugh James only have 152 reviews listed.

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Hugh James Review Scores & Client Satisfaction Overview

1.9
Poor
40%
Value for
Money
29%
Success
Rate
21%
Would
Recommend
Communication 2.0/5
Initial Impressions 2.0/5
Approachability 1.9/5
Documentation Accuracy 1.9/5
Legal Knowledge 2.1/5
Value for money 2.0/5

Accreditations

Hugh James are accredited by

Children Law accreditation awarded to Hugh James
Criminal Litigation accreditation awarded to Hugh James
Personal Injury accreditation awarded to Hugh James
Trading names:
Hugh James Independent Financial Advisers

Description

We're Hugh James. A top 100 UK law firm offering a full range of legal services. With more than 60 years’ experience and 560 staff members, we have the expertise to deliver a service you can trust. We’d love to talk to you about how we can help. Our lawyers will take the time to understand what you want to achieve and will work tirelessly to help achieve the result you want.

Rankings by area of expertise

The rankings below show the areas of expertise that Hugh James offers to clients. You can see how good the service offered is in comparison to all other law firms nationally / locally.

Hugh James Review Scores & Client Satisfaction Overview

2.7
55%
Value for
Money
28% below
national average
43%
Success
Rate
39% below
national average
42%
Would
Recommend
39% below
national average
Communication 2.7/5
Initial Impressions 3.0/5
Approachability 2.7/5
Documentation Accuracy 2.8/5
Legal Knowledge 2.9/5
Value for money 2.8/5

Accreditations

Hugh James are accredited by

Children Law accreditation awarded to Hugh James
Criminal Litigation accreditation awarded to Hugh James
Personal Injury accreditation awarded to Hugh James
Trading names:
Hugh James Independent Financial Advisers

Description

We're Hugh James. A top 100 UK law firm offering a full range of legal services. With more than 60 years’ experience and 560 staff members, we have the expertise to deliver a service you can trust. We’d love to talk to you about how we can help. Our lawyers will take the time to understand what you want to achieve and will work tirelessly to help achieve the result you want.

Rankings by area of expertise

The rankings below show the areas of expertise that Hugh James offers to clients. You can see how good the service offered is in comparison to all other law firms nationally / locally.

Housing & Property 2 / 5
Professional Negligence 2 / 4
Personal Injury 1 / 4
Immigration Law 1 / 1
Dispute Resolution 2 / 4
Family Law 2 / 2
Commercial Property 2 / 5
Banking 1 / 1
Consumer 2 / 5
Crime/ Criminal Defence 1 / 1
Litigation 1 / 1
Wills, Trusts & Probate 2 / 5
Asset Management 1 / 1
Fraud Law 1 / 1
Clinical Negligence 1 / 4
Company & Commercial 2 / 2
Welfare & Benefits 1 / 1
Insurance Law 1 / 1
Child Law 1 / 1
Contract Law 2 / 2
Land Law 1 / 1
Employment 2 / 2
Company Law 1 / 2
Debt and Tax Law 1 / 1
Education 1 / 1
Inheritance Law 1 / 2
Care Law 1 / 1
Charities 1 / 1
Construction 2 / 4
Criminal Law 1 / 2
Money & Tax 1 / 1
Adjudication Law 1 / 18
Business Law 1 / 2
Corporate Law 1 / 2
Court of Protection and Deputyship 1 / 1
Cybersecurity and Data Protection Law 1 / 2
Driving offences 1 / 1
Equality Law 2 / 3
Governance Law 1 / 1
Health and Welfare Law 1 / 15
Healthcare Law 1 / 28
Immigration 1 / 1
Inquest Law 1 / 1
Telecommunications Law 1 / 17
Agriculture 1 / 4
Class Action Law 1 / 3
Compliance Law 1 / 1
Copyright Law 1 / 1
Discrimination Law 2 / 2
Domestic Violence Law 1 / 2
Economic Law 1 / 1
Energy & Transport 1 / 1
Energy Law 1 / 3
Entertainment and Media Law 1 / 9
Environmental Law 1 / 1
Fire Safety Law 1 / 1
Food Law 1 / 12
Gambling Law 1 / 16
Government Contracts Law 1 / 21
Hospitality Law 1 / 1
Human rights 1 / 2
IT & Intellectual Property 1 / 2
Information Law 1 / 61
Infrastructure Law 1 / 1
Intellectual Property Law 1 / 1
Licensing Law 1 / 4
Mergers and Acquisitions Law 1 / 1
National Insurance Law 1 / 1
Notary 1 / 1
Occupational Health Law 1 / 1
Pensions Law 1 / 2
Pharmaceutical Law 1 / 3
Planning Law 1 / 2
Product Safety Law 1 / 1
Regulations 1 / 1
Regulatory Law 1 / 1
Sports Law 1 / 23
Surveillance Law 1 / 2
Tourism Law 1 / 1
Local 2 / 2
Housing & Property 1257 / 4,772
Professional Negligence 291 / 1,298
Personal Injury 490 / 2,650
Immigration Law 590 / 1,156
Dispute Resolution 431 / 1,802
Family Law 1449 / 4,224
Commercial Property 842 / 3,667
Banking 482 / 1,032
Consumer 799 / 4,415
Crime/ Criminal Defence 1086 / 2,142
Litigation 423 / 892
Wills, Trusts & Probate 833 / 3,763
Asset Management 205 / 394
Fraud Law 199 / 514
Clinical Negligence 310 / 1,247
Company & Commercial 910 / 4,183
Welfare & Benefits 267 / 1,050
Insurance Law 239 / 659
Child Law 1275 / 1,640
Contract Law 581 / 1,426
Land Law 597 / 1,322
Employment 909 / 3,622
Company Law 478 / 970
Debt and Tax Law 476 / 787
Education 153 / 422
Inheritance Law 232 / 680
Care Law 256 / 531
Charities 207 / 767
Construction 235 / 854
Criminal Law 331 / 1,008
Money & Tax 622 / 1,951
Adjudication Law 69 / 240
Business Law 185 / 469
Corporate Law 299 / 843
Court of Protection and Deputyship 215 / 577
Cybersecurity and Data Protection Law 348 / 893
Driving offences 276 / 626
Equality Law 634 / 1,097
Governance Law 126 / 272
Health and Welfare Law 59 / 186
Healthcare Law 91 / 357
Immigration 511 / 2,284
Inquest Law 27 / 50
Telecommunications Law 14 / 74
Agriculture 306 / 820
Class Action Law 44 / 105
Compliance Law 152 / 462
Copyright Law 279 / 522
Discrimination Law 385 / 499
Domestic Violence Law 495 / 896
Economic Law 133 / 223
Energy & Transport 158 / 511
Energy Law 86 / 359
Entertainment and Media Law 9 / 56
Environmental Law 85 / 394
Fire Safety Law 58 / 180
Food Law 9 / 80
Gambling Law 17 / 75
Government Contracts Law 18 / 133
Hospitality Law 41 / 95
Human rights 409 / 962
IT & Intellectual Property 411 / 1,114
Information Law 61 / 339
Infrastructure Law 106 / 187
Intellectual Property Law 324 / 625
Licensing Law 124 / 501
Mergers and Acquisitions Law 255 / 433
National Insurance Law 258 / 422
Notary 327 / 849
Occupational Health Law 192 / 429
Pensions Law 215 / 488
Pharmaceutical Law 35 / 95
Planning Law 182 / 585
Product Safety Law 36 / 56
Regulations 361 / 2,409
Regulatory Law 122 / 255
Sports Law 90 / 303
Surveillance Law 119 / 164
Tourism Law 24 / 43
National 1820 / 11,165

Contact & Locations - Hugh James

2 Charlotte Place, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 0TB

Reviews

1.9 /5 28 Reviews
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Star rating

Rating

Clients say

What clients say about Hugh James

Clients praise Hugh James for strong clinical negligence, serious injury and complex probate expertise, with successful outcomes including high-value settlements and Supreme Court work. Solicitors named (Sophie Nicol, Nikolai and team) are valued for clear communication, support, compassion, advocacy, persistence and professionalism throughout lengthy and sensitive cases.

responsive
supportive
clear communication
compassionate
advocacy
experienced
successful outcomes
thorough
client-focused
keeps updated

ReviewSolicitors Review List

Profile image of Joanne Armer

Joanne Armer

Verified

amazing service

Had a very positive experience,Suzanne was so helpful and understanding whilst dealing with my case,she was always available to answer any questions i had and always made me feel at ease.I would highly recommend her services.

A representative from Hugh James responded to this review

Thank you so much for your five star review Joanne! We really appreciate your feedback and have passed this on to Suzanne. Thanks again!

0
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Chloe

Avoid at all costs

Currently in the process of remortgaging and my case with Hugh James was accepted on the 28th April. It is a very straight forward remortgage, yet we are still waiting for a completion date 9 weeks later. Shocking waiting times for someone to answer the phone. As I am typing this, I have been on hold and waiting for someone to answer for 2 hours and 51 minutes. Previous phone calls have taken a over an hour for an answer, or - I have just been cut off. I have never waited this long on the end of a phone for it to be answered, ever! Their portal system is, in my opinion, a waste of time. I have received no response from emails I have sent to our dedicated case worker, nor has my case even been updated since the 20th May. I have since searched Hugh James on Google where I have read poor review after poor review, all with the same experience. Believe every one you read! We are beyond annoyed at this point. How can we get an answer to any of our questions when it takes in excess of 2 hours and counting for someone to answer the phone. We were automatically given Hugh James via our lender HSBC, we would have never have chosen them otherwise.

8
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Ashley

Wills, Trusts & Probate

Horrible company to deal with

The most unprofessional company I have ever had to deal with. They choose to ignore all my callback promises and when I eventually managed to get the paperwork, they hadn't signed the things they needed to. So this put me back to square one. I hope that anybody will think twice before using this company as they could not care less about you or helping you.

3
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Sach

Natwest Remortgage - Poor service

I remortgaged with NatWest and the Natwest team at Involegal handled my case. Started by sending an email with an attachment into my junk folder, with no follow-up for multiple weeks. Then ignored my instructions to complete on 2nd of the month, by only deciding to complete on 15th, then failing to complete until 21st. So roughly I was down by £200 due to paying a higher rate mortgage for nearly a month. The reply to the complaint took 21 days to come, still ignoring my request for compensation (didn't even get to that part), when called back asked for a further 21 days... (so that's where I am)

1
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Profile image of Anonymous

Anonymous

Great advice delivered in a friendly accessible way.

Having been referred following a poor experience with two previous firms, I have been impressed with the interest showed in my case, the quality of service, honest and to the point, and how it has been progressed to date.

0
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Reviews

2.7 /5 152 Reviews
Filter your results
Star rating

Rating

Clients say

What clients say about Hugh James

Clients praise Hugh James for strong clinical negligence, serious injury and complex probate expertise, with successful outcomes including high-value settlements and Supreme Court work. Solicitors named (Sophie Nicol, Nikolai and team) are valued for clear communication, support, compassion, advocacy, persistence and professionalism throughout lengthy and sensitive cases.

responsive
supportive
clear communication
compassionate
advocacy
experienced
successful outcomes
thorough
client-focused
keeps updated

ReviewSolicitors Review List

Profile image of anonymous

anonymous

Wills, Trusts & Probate

4 years on and still waiting for completed of probate. Lack of communication

I'm not one to write negative reviews but I've lost my patience with this company. I brought Hugh James on board to manage our probate in early 2023. It is now July 2026 and the probate is still not finished. The entire process has been painful and has frankly made a difficult grieving process worse. I have had to chase my contacts constantly, sometimes not receiving an email reply for months at a time. I suspect that this team is severely overloaded with cases so my complaint is not necessarily against any one employee at Hugh James but more the way things are run from top down. We eventually received part of the estate funds in 2025 but radio silence since then. The last email I had from them was in October 2025.

Solicitors tagged in
this review

0
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Profile image of MARTYN WEBB

MARTYN WEBB

Never even got to speak to anyone.

Filled in their ''contact us'' form onljne on 7/04/25. The advert says they will get straight back to you. On 15/04/26 I rang to say no one had been in touch so the person on the phone arranged for someone to ring me at 12 o'clock on 16/04/26. Needless to say no one rang. So I rang again on 16/04/26 at 2pm and was told someone would ring me back in the next 45mins. Guess what.? I think this is an omen to NOT use Hugh James.

0
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Profile image of Merisan

Merisan

Lack of Communication

I instructed Hugh James on a No Win, No Fee clinical negligence case following the loss of my baby at Lewisham Hospital due to medical malpractice. The case has been ongoing for around three years. Unfortunately, despite the extremely sensitive nature of this bereavement case, I experienced over two months of complete silence from my solicitor. Emails and phone calls were not returned, which caused significant distress and concern about the handling of my claim. I expected compassion, transparency, and basic communication. Sadly, this was not my experience.

0
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Malcolm

Clinical Negligence

Three years to get almost nothing

Three years ago I started an action for clinical negligence against a GP. It was a "No-Win-No-Fee" action. Of course the famous phrase "No-Win-No-Fee" is not what most lay people think it is. It is a Condition Fee Agreement. You take out an After The Event insurance policy at the beginning. It's there to guarantee the huge legal fees that solicitors charge. If you lose then you pay nothing and get nothing. If you "win" then the premium is deducted from your award and a maximum of 25% Success Fee is also deducted. This is okay, but only so long as you actually WIN and the other side pay out proper compensation. Hugh James moved at the pace of an asthmatic snail on sedatives. Endless emails followed. Worst of all, they engaged a fantastically expensive neurologist, Dr Oliver Foster, who was a superb expert witness not just for me but also for the defence. Thus NHS Resolution, got away with offering a paltry £10,000, which after deductions as mentioned ended up as £7500. My actual medical expenses caused by this GP were approaching £6000, so I in effect ended up with £1500 - after three long years of stressful legal action. I would avoid them for this sort of litigation.

2
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martin

incompetent, only interested in your money

dont waste your money.nice initially but nothing gets done,hard to get hold of, poor communication, errors,useless. i wished i looked at reviews first

4
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Other Reviews

Profile image of Bessie

Bessie

Verified

Wills, Trusts and Probate

Polite, Punctual & Efficient

0
Collected on: Law_net collection source logo

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