Birketts Reviews 

I would like to thank the Birketts' Chelmsford office, particularly Lucy in the Family team and Erika in the Property team, for their professionalism, guidance and support over the past 6 months.

My divorce and the subsequent transfer of the family home were both legally complex and, at times, emotionally demanding. Throughout the process, I was always given clear, balanced advice and felt that my interests were being carefully protected.

Lucy guided me through the family law proceedings with patience, sound judgement and compassion, helping me to make informed decisions during what was a significant chapter in my life. Erika then steered the property transaction through to completion with great diligence, ensuring every detail was properly addressed and giving me confidence that everything had been handled thoroughly.

Legal matters of this nature are never easy, but having advisers you trust makes an enormous difference. I'm grateful for the professionalism and integrity shown by everyone at Birketts and would have no hesitation in recommending the firm to anyone seeking expert legal advice.

Thank you to Barny Croft! - We were dealing with a very stressful family situation and were incredibly grateful for Barny's calm authority and incisive direction !

Birketts are a great firm to work along side in particular Ryker Strange. Ryker will always go above and beyond for clients and always provide clear and concise updates.

Ryker is amazing at providing any concerns along with clear guidance and recommendations and this is something that makes a massive difference in cases being clear and have a understanding of how to move forward from a legal perspective!

Ryker is always friendly and professional and a joy to work with.

Anneka, took over my sale from Jenennifer, chain of 4, with others in the chain using cheap on line conveyancers, who do not respond, making the experience extremly slow and frustrating. Birketts Solicitors are available and contactable, and on the ball, well done team for exchanging contracts on 11/3/2026.

Amazing work by Meha Patel and Katie Taylor, not only did they have a client that was slow at providing information, but they still achieved a very tight deadline for the client, working directly with the lender to speed up the process in the last 3 days before completion was urgently required. They never got frustrated with the client, explained in detail what was required. I would highly recommend them for all your conveyancing requirements. As a broker, they were wonderful to speak to too. This team is based in the Cambridge office.

Birketts dealt with my divorce and I really felt like they were in my corner, Lucy Birch was great, gave good advice and actually made me feel like I had someone looking out for me.

Jamie and Lauren at Birketts in Chelmsford. I cannot recommend highly enough. Unwavering professionalism from start to finish - thank you.

They recently handled my divorce. A relatively straightforward one, but they provided expert advice, reassurance and delivered with empathy and kindness throughout

Takes a very long time to progress a property transaction. Weeks go by with no response.

Having used Birkets twice previously I approached them to handle a small, but urgent legal issue. Without any proper or constructive consultation, with no evidence of hourly fees nor the estimated time likely to be taken I was told to pay an initial £3000+VAT before anything further would be done. This was a small piece of legal work by ANY definition.

To be clear: I used Birketts twice previously, had no issues, paid bills on time without question. So no negative history.

Therefore, to receive dismissive, finger-in-the-air fees not backed up with any data to demonstrate how those fees were calculated was appalling service.

£4000+VAT to write a one paragraph letter - literally.

I have found a direct access barrister at one third of Birketts' costs and an international London lawyer firm even less.

Shop around.

Rocksolid swift advise from my solicitor Francesca Skakel in Cambridge. I recommend listening to her course of action to not waste any money and time in your finance divorce.

Stephanie Butler and Lucy Grunwell both did their jobs to a very high standard. What was a really stressful process was managed by them with care and attention. Their presence was professional, reassuring and thoughtful. Highly recommended.

I received support from Sarah Overy and the Family Law team and would thoroughly recommend them. She was clear, pragmatic, and invaluable in clarifying the process to me and what my options were. I felt like I understood what was happening beyond all the legal jargon, and could ask questions and clarify things when I didn't understand them.

A very bad experience. Just found out that they did not represent us appropriately.

Will update later

Our whole experience from start to finish was outstanding. Ben Green and Sharon Bell are straight talking, in a plain English. They explained every detail, the positive and negative so we could make our own decision to which path we would like to take. They are very professional and thorough. Overall two lovely people who made an extremely sensitive situation, easier to cope with. Would definitely recommend, absolutely excellent service. THANK YOU.

Outstanding support from Cara Chambers and Clare Andrews. Very responsive, always available, competent and with clear communication throughout the process. Much more personal and dedicated than other conveyors I used before, which makes you feel truly looked after by a safe pair of hands - I cannot recommend Cara and Clare enough and I look forward to working with them again in the future.

I cannot rate the legal expertise and support of Nick Stotesbury and Sharon Bell highly enough.
I found myself part of a Contentious Will situation brought by another beneficiary which eventually involved 4 law firms.
Nick came highly recommended to me, and he and Sharon have proved with every twist and turn of this case, why they are held in such high regard by their fellow lawyers.
They really know their stuff and can explain to the lay person what is going on. I felt looked after from start to finish even though geographically we were miles apart. Their depth of legal knowledge, communications(both with me and the other firms involved), advice, strategy in reaching closure was exceptional. They went the extra mile every time making sure I understood everything that was happening and what was needed from me.
Their support for me through the very emotional at times, and highly strategic and legally mind boggling day-long mediation process was exemplary.

For me, Nick and Sharon are the best.

I encountered a challenging situation involving inheritance and family affairs. My lawyer, Shrone, successfully resolved all the issues and provided exceptional service. I am exceedingly pleased with the results and deeply appreciate Shrone's helpfulness, kindness, and compassion.

I cannot recommend Francesca Skakel highly enough. She is, without a doubt, a first-class solicitor with a razor-sharp mind when it comes to family law.

What truly set Francesca apart for me was her approach to resolving my problem. I greatly appreciated her advice and strategic thinking in reaching a solution without escalating matters and going to court. Unfortunately, in my experience, some family solicitors will deliberately escalate disputes to profit from the acrimony. However, Francesca genuinely has an eye on how family disputes can be resolved amicably.

It is very rare to find someone with this blend of legal expertise and a focus on peaceful resolution. If you're looking for a family solicitor who prioritises finding a sensible solution while protecting your interests, Francesca is an exceptional choice.

I have been working (as a client) with Rachel Frost-Smith and Francesca Skakel for the last 5 months.
Their professional expertise, work ethic and interpersonal skills are exceptional. They go above and beyond and it was obvious from day one that they are passionate about what they do.
Rachel’s and Francesca’s commitment and compassion made it possible for me to cope with an extremely stressful situation.
Although the outcome is still unclear, I am certain that I am in good hands and can look forward to a happy future.
Thank you Rachel and Francesca!