Redmans Limited

I was a client of Redman's for nearly a year, from early 2017 to early 2018. Chris was my solicitor and the only person at the firm I ever spoke to. I discovered Redmans online and checked their customer reviews before instructing them. I am writing this review because I feel an obligation to share my experience so others may assess the firm's services before instructing them.

I explained the facts of my case to Chris and provided him with all supporting documentation. After reviewing everything, Chris told me I had a very strong legal defense and a high likelihood of prevailing in litigation, if it got that far (which it did). I didn't just accept this - I challenged Chris many times, asking what their defense would be, asking how much experience he had in the kind of matter I was dealing with, and how much money I could be at risk of being liable for if I was unsuccessful. Chris told me that if he was advising my opponent, he would advise them they had a weak legal position and to settle as soon as possible and for approximately 25% of the amount they were claiming. He assured me he has been instructed on similar matters around a dozen times. He assured me Redmans were 'no stranger to the inside of a court room'. I trusted Chris's advice (why wouldn't I, he's a licensed solicitor with experience and good online reviews) and we set our negotiation strategy accordingly. We would take a firm, confident defensive position.

Unfortunately, after much negotiating and no sign from my opponent that they believed their position to be weak at all, they filed a claim against me. By this point I had racked up thousands of pounds of legal fees with Redmans on correspondence alone. Being sued was terrifying. It was at this point I did my own research and realized it wasn't so cut and dry. I contacted another solicitor who argued a case resting on similar legal precedent to the Court of Appeals. After explaining the facts of my case to him and my defense, he told me flat out that I was going to lose, that the law provided no defense to me and in fact gave the claimant a strong position.

When I contacted Chris with this view, he was surprised. I suggested we get advice from a barrister. Our documents were sent to a Littleton Chambers barrister who Chris described as "very learned" and the favourite barrister he worked with. 1 week later, the barrister sent through a 7 page assessment of my position (my non-position), methodically shredding it to bits and advising me to settle as soon as possible. He concurred I had a very weak legal defense, the opposite of what Chris had advised me.

I spoke to Chris. I told him I was concerned I had incurred thousands of pounds in legal fees and had a claim filed against me resulting from incorrect legal advice. He agreed to help me settle the case with some kind of discount. Immediately after the call, he emailed me with a caveat he did not discuss with me - that he would work for free for 2 months, until the new year. He did not tell me he would drop me after this period, settled or not.

After the new year, we had not settled yet. I was sent discovery forms by the court and forwarded them on to Chris. His reply was absolutely shocking. He said my retainer agreement was terminated when he told me he'd only work until 31 December. Why? Redmans had too much other work on so didn't want to support litigation. That's not what he told me when I first instructed him. He said they were no strangers to the inside of a court room. Why would Redmans take on more work than they could handle - wouldn't they be obliged to their existing clients before taking on new work? It didn't make sense. I was faced with having to pay another solicitor to get up to scratch and wasting valuable time. Luckily, the claimant made a reasonable settlement offer immediately after this, and Chris agreed to do the settlement paperwork for a fee. I am not sure I would have accepted this offer - thereby having to pay claimant's legal fees and recovering none of my own - had I not been under the pressure to find a new solicitor.

Before you hire Redmans, ask yourself whether you're looking for a firm that terminates your retainer agreement mid-claim after working for you for nearly a year because they're ostensibly too busy with other work, whether you are happy receiving legal advice contradicted by other solicitors, barristers, and the behavior of your opponent, and whether you want to protract a legal dispute for months after it could be settled - and at all the additional cost associated with that - because of poor strategising. That was my experience with Redmans. If you instruct them I hope for your sake it was an anomaly.