Sm Lawson Solicitors

I instructed this firm for a conveyancing matter and experienced serious shortcomings in service. Communication was repeatedly delayed, with important emails going unanswered despite the matter being time-sensitive. This does not meet the standards required under the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors (paragraphs 3.2 and 8.9), which require a competent service and prompt, clear communication. When a formal complaint was raised, it was not handled through a proper complaints process. Instead, the concerns were dismissed, which is inconsistent with the SRA Code of Conduct for Firms (paragraphs 8.2–8.5) requiring firms to acknowledge and investigate complaints fairly. The handling of the matter became inconsistent and confusing, and there was a lack of clear guidance on what was required to progress the case.

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Shazu Miah

Sm Lawson is handling my late mother's estate since 2015 and they have still not payed out even though the house was sold in 2015.They have stopped replying to emails or phone calls do not trust these people with anything they will not let go of the money.

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Shazu Miah

Julian Peter William Fallows

I instructed S.M. Lawson for a simple property title change matter. Indeed, were it not for the "closed shop" nature of the legal system, it would not have needed any legal input at all. However, as it was, the other side's lawyers drew up all the paperwork - which in itself was just a 3 page standardised form - and so all S.M.Lawson had to do was change one percentage figure in the form document, check it was okay and clear it with the other side. For this I was quoted £250 + VAT. Some weeks later, no progress on this simple matter had occurred, but I did then receive a written bill for £450 + VAT. On querying this I was told the bill was"Just a template" that was "sent out in error" and that the original charge (albeit plus a new £50 charge for "storage") had been reinstated. Weeks then went by with no progress. I then started to get calls from the other side and then the other side's lawyers asking why Lawson had done nothing and "Do they answer their phones?" I then had the joy of trying to get through to them several times a day to see what they were doing and why they had not contacted the other side (literally the only thing they had to do once the standardised 3 page form had been checked). This went on for weeks. Finally the matter was settled - after several months - and I was then charged £100 more than I was quoted (not the original quote mind, the revised quote with additional charges). On querying this I was told that they had done 9 hours work on this matter and that it should have been £2000!!! Nonsense - it was literally a 30 minute job, something the young lawyer I met at my original meeting actually admitted! So overall, they were difficult to get in touch with, tried to overcharge me on two separate occasions and took ages to complete a job that was literally just signing off an already completed three page form document. AVOID!!!!

I would like to say that I have recieved nothing but the very best of service from Jamal Hussain in the completion of buying our property. A1 service throughout!! He was very professional and kept me up to date with the whole process. This made me feel involved and reassured from start to finish. I honestly couldn't of wished for a better firm to deal with. 100% satisfied!! I would also like to give Hayley Thompson from the firm a very special thanks too, as she was also brilliant and a pleasure throughout.

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Jamal Hussain