HERRINGTON CARMICHAEL LLP

Talia is an absolute angel!! She fought so hard to get to the end of our sale and purchase! She did not stop until the job was done and honestly helped us through it when it got tough! She really took on a lot of our stress and I could not recommend her and this firm enough!! Thank you so much Talia again!!!

I would like to sincerely thank Aaron and the entire team for their excellent professional service.

Aaron is truly an asset to the company. Whenever I sent him an email, he responded within a few minutes and always kept me updated throughout the process. I never felt ignored or left wondering about the progress of my case.

I would also like to appreciate Mary Jayne, Emily, Laura Oakley, Jessica and the rest of the team. Everyone was prompt, helpful, professional, and courteous in their communication.

Thank you all for making the whole experience smooth and stress-free. I highly appreciate your dedication, professionalism, and excellent customer service. Keep up the great work!

My experience with Sarah Speed and Herrington Carmichael was catastrophic both emotionally and financially.

This was not a billionaire divorce involving companies, offshore trusts or vast assets. I owned one ordinary 3-bedroom house and there were no children involved, yet I was still billed close to £180,000 in legal fees over the course of proceedings.

When I eventually questioned the scale of the billing and refused to blindly accept it, the reaction was immediate and aggressive. Barristers were instructed against me and pressure intensified instead of any meaningful attempt to justify or reflect on the costs being charged. She attempted to bill me £42,000 for a half day preliminary hearing to examine her billing, which was described as "bonkers" by the judge.

Importantly, during subsequent costs proceedings, the court reduced parts of the claimed costs, billing and hourly rates. That speaks for itself.

One letter she attempted to bill me was for £6700 ex VAT for just 7hrs of alleged work which was slapped down by a costs judge

What I experienced was a relentless cycle of escalating fees, excessive charging for correspondence, a revolving door of trainees and junior staff, and a complete absence of proportionality or common sense. At times it genuinely felt like the priority was maximising invoices rather than resolving the case sensibly.

At one stage Sarah was screaming down the phone at me that she needs to be paid. She also sent inappropriate messages from her personal phone. Sarah is about earning fees and your best interests are secondary.

Family proceedings are stressful enough without feeling financially destroyed by your own solicitors. In my opinion, this firm lost sight of the client entirely.

I also became uncomfortable with aspects of the professional boundaries during the retainer. Some communications sent to me via WhatsApp from a personal phone felt overly informal and, in my view, inappropriate within a solicitor-client relationship.

The only decent lawyer was a trainee Toby Glass, who left the firm once he qualified. That speaks for itself.

If you are considering instructing this firm, question every invoice, scrutinise every hourly rate, and do not assume that eye-watering fees equate to quality representation.

We used this firm for our first house sale/purchase several years ago and they were fantastic, super efficient, communicative and proactive throughout the whole process. Because of that experience, we came back to use them again for our recent move.

Unfortunately, I won’t be making that mistake again.

What should have been one of the simplest chains possible, us with no onward chain and a first-time buyer purchasing our property, still took just over 16 weeks to complete. The process felt painfully slow from start to finish.

One of the biggest frustrations was the constant change of people handling our case. We seemed to have several trainees involved throughout, which only added delays and confusion. Communication was also incredibly poor compared to our first experience. We were constantly chasing for updates rather than being kept informed proactively.

It’s such a shame, because five years ago I would have highly recommended them without hesitation. Sadly, the level of service now feels completely different, and their reputation at least from our experience, has really suffered because of it.

Over the past few months Nicole Miller, a Legal Director in Herrington Carmichael’s Private Wealth and Inheritance Department, has provided outstanding service in creating a trust for our family. From the outset, Nicole was professional, knowledgeable, and incredibly reassuring, guiding us through what could have been a complex process with clarity and patience. She took the time to understand our circumstances fully and explained everything in straightforward terms, ensuring we felt confident at every stage.

Nicole’s expertise, attention to detail, and responsive communication gave us complete peace of mind. She handled our matter with both precision and genuine care, making us feel that our family’s interests were truly valued. We are extremely grateful for her support and would wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone seeking expert and compassionate private wealth advice.