Shakespeare Martineau LLP

There are occasions in life when a simple thank you feels entirely inadequate, and my experience with John Tunnard is most certainly one of them. Losing both parents is heartbreaking enough, but when that grief is compounded by complicated legal issues surrounding their wills, probate and sensitive family circumstances, an already devastating experience can become overwhelming. Throughout one of the most difficult and emotionally challenging periods of my life, I have been incredibly fortunate to have John Tunnard supporting and guiding me. John has helped me navigate complex matters relating to both my late father's will and my late mother's will and probate. His legal knowledge, professionalism, patience and determination have been absolutely exceptional. But what truly sets John apart is something that cannot simply be taught or measured by professional qualifications: his genuine humanity and compassion. John understands that behind every will, every legal document and every probate matter, there are real people, real families and often an enormous amount of heartache. Throughout my experience, John has treated me with kindness, dignity, patience and understanding. He has taken the time to listen, explain complicated legal matters clearly and offer reassurance when circumstances have felt particularly difficult. Never once have I felt like just another client or another case number. John has consistently made me feel that my concerns matter, that my voice is heard and that I have someone knowledgeable, compassionate and trustworthy in my corner. There have been moments when the circumstances surrounding my parents' estates have felt incredibly overwhelming. During those times, John's calm professionalism, sound judgement and genuine commitment to helping me find a way forward have been invaluable. What makes John truly exceptional is not simply that he understands the law. It is that he understands the people who need his help. That is a rare and wonderful quality. When you are grieving the loss of your parents and simultaneously trying to navigate complicated legal and family matters, having someone you can trust completely makes an extraordinary difference. John has provided far more than legal advice. He has given me clarity when I was confused, reassurance when I was worried and confidence when the road ahead seemed uncertain. His support has made an enormous difference to me, both practically and emotionally, and I will never underestimate the value of that. I firmly believe that the true measure of a professional is not simply their qualifications, knowledge or expertise, but the positive difference they make to the lives of the people who turn to them for help. By that measure, John is quite simply outstanding. To anyone facing difficulties involving wills, probate, inheritance or sensitive family circumstances, I cannot recommend John Tunnard highly enough. If you are fortunate enough to have John representing you, you are in exceptionally capable hands. Five stars may be the highest rating this website allows, but they genuinely do not seem sufficient to recognise the compassion, dedication, integrity and professionalism John has demonstrated. And finally, John, should you ever read this review, there is something I would particularly like you to know. You have helped me through one of the most difficult chapters of my life. At a time when I was grieving, worried and uncertain about the future, your kindness, patience, determination and professional guidance made a difference that words can barely express. You may see it as simply doing your job, but to me, what you have done has meant so much more. Thank you, John , sincerely and from the bottom of my heart. I will always be grateful.

I am extremely disappointed with the service I have received regarding a Deed of Variation which has still not been resolved. Week after week, my solicitor has been ignored by Amy Jones, who is supposed to be handling this matter. Due to the constant delays and complete lack of communication, I have now lost two buyers because they became fed up of waiting as the sale was taking so long as it couldn't complete until we had this deed of variation. This situation has been ongoing for almost a year and has caused me severe financial loss and significant mental stress. A Deed of Variation was agreed, yet despite repeated requests from my solicitor, nothing has been produced. It appears the only time any response is received is when a formal complaint is made. That is completely unacceptable and unprofessional. As matters currently stand, I feel I have no choice but to escalate this to the Ombudsman. Nobody should have to endure this level of delay, poor communication, and disregard. These delays have real consequences and affect people’s lives.

My company needed some help and advice on a restructure and were recommended Shakespeare Martineau. We dealt with Dean Chauhan a Corporate Partner who was incredibly knowledgeable, very responsive and happy to help with any of the questions we had.

My son had a road traffic accident and was in hospital for many weeks. His firm then began termination of employment procedure. Thankfully, an excellent, knowledgeable and trustworthy lawyer from Shakespeare Martineau, kindly explained the procedure, the possible consequences, and the probable pathway to take. This advice was very gratefully received at a difficult time in our lives. We are extremely thankful and highly recommend JH of SM to anyone who needs help with an employment dispute.

I deal with lawyers, attorneys, and solicitors worldwide, and I've never encountered such unprofessional, incompetent, and useless legal representation in all my life. ShakespeaerreMartineau / Lime Solicitors represented me in a civil lawsuit against a school's negligence in a childhood abuse case. They were handed my case when my previous solicitor retired. The first thing they did was ensure that the school outside the settlement paid all their legal fees - outside of the settlement amount. This ensured they were paid a nice fee and allowed them to care less about any settlement amount. So when the school's representatives offered a settlement with seven days to respond, my Shakespeare Martineau attorney failed to pass it along promptly and professionally. After requesting I deal with another solicitor within the company, I was denied; consequently, I accepted the school's offer, not because it was a fair amount but because I didn't want to have to deal with ShakespeaerreMartineau / Lime Solicitors any further. That decision cost tens of thousands, but it was worth not dealing with such unprofessional incompetence. In being handed the case, my attorney still made me go through hours of detailed interviews with therapists and resubmit all paperwork and receipts from doctors from decades ago. This was after a successful criminal conviction, with police interviews and reports. It was a painful and arduous task with the information they had previously had, and I realized it was causing me more trauma in dealing with my own solicitors. The solicitor's communication, or lack thereof, could have been faster, and I complained numerous times. When I officially complained to the company through the proper channels, they didn't respond promptly according to their policies. In my criminal case, the school teacher received 18 years in jail, and seeing the British justice system work was the best day of my life. My one regret in the case was engaging ShakespeaerreMartineau / Lime Solicitors to act as my representatives. I'm writing this to you so that you will avoid making the same mistake I made!

I have recently used Shakespeare Martineau to buy and sell a home and Raza was my main point of contact. I can't thank him enough, he was excellent from start to finish and he communicated with me throughout the process. I would highly recommend his services and have no hesitation in using him again.

I came across SM when I was looking for a Solicitor to assist me in dealing with a Court of Protection Order, I had no knowledge of what needed to be done and engaged Anna Morris (Stratford Upon Avon Office) to act on my behalf, the person who the Court of Protection Order pertained to passed away shortly after the application, so this went no further so as their Executor I then needed a Probate Solicitor and Anna suggested I contact her colleague Lauren Crowhurst (Leicester/Nottingham Office) , Laurent dealt with the Probate on what turned out to be overly difficult and challenging - Anna also assisted on occasion due to the nature of certain aspects - At all times Lauren and Anna were professional, (they certainly knew their stuff......), personable and supportive, which I truly appreciated - I had complete faith in them to complete the task and felt we built up an extremely good working rapport which to me was important. I would have no hesitation in recommending Lauren Crowhurst and Anna Morris - thank you again Ladies

We first used Shakespeare Martineau 14 years ago when purchasing our home, and based on that excellent experience, we had no hesitation in returning to them for our recent move. We were assigned Raza, who was truly exceptional throughout the entire process. He was incredibly informative, easy to contact, and went above and beyond to ensure everything stayed on track—nothing was ever too much trouble for him. Although our move took much longer than anticipated due to external factors, Raza kept us well-informed every step of the way, providing much-needed clarity during a complex process. We are really happy with the service we received and would highly recommend Shakespeare Martineau (and Raza specifically) to anyone looking for a reliable, professional solicitor.

Andy Crow RecommendsShakespeare Martineau LLP.

Happy with the service. I feel like I had to chase the team for updates but I recognise there were delays on the buyers side that were out of SM’s control. I appreciated the phone calls - these were helpful as I am not always on my email.