Birketts Reviews 

82
TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

4.3

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I had the pleasure to deal with Isaac Craft at Birketts in the context of a property transaction. Isaac was very diligent and detail-oriented, which gave me full confidence in his approach. His advice... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

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 o... See more

Company replied

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

It's a shame one lawyer representing a top law firm can ruin their reputation. Welcome to the Real world. Probably the worst experience with a law firm in my 37 years in finance. Interbay as a lender... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

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 prov... See more

Company replied

Company details

  1. Legal Services
  2. Divorce Lawyer
  3. Employment Lawyer
  4. Estate Planning Lawyer
  5. Family Lawyer
  6. Immigration Lawyer

Written by the company

Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals based in Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich
and Sevenoaks. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally. Our business is divided into four principal practice groups: real estate, corporate services, litigation and private client. With our ambition to succeed, comes a strong desire to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, and we are committed to delivering the objectives set out in our ESG strategy. Diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 41% of our partnership. We maintain the highest professional and ethical standards and are accredited with the UK Law Society’s practice management quality standard, Lexcel and hold the Centre for Assessment Customer Service Excellence accreditation. We are also ISO accredited in the areas of quality management (9001), environmental management (14001), information security (27001) and business continuity (22301).


Contact info

4.3

Excellent

TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

82 reviews

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4.3

All reviews

(82)

15 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Above and beyond!

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!

22 June 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

Thank you for taking the time to leave a 5 star review for our Family Team. We wish you every success with your matter and have passed your kind words along to Rachel and Francesca.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Skilled, Compassionate, Collaborative Family Lawyers

I have collaborated with Francesca Skakel on a variety of divorce and family cases and clients are always happy with her thorough, accurate and empathetic advice. She goes above and beyond, and is very considerate of each client's unique needs, which makes a big difference - especially for neurodivergent or cost-conscious clients. Jessica Richardson, as well, is a very skilled and compassionate family lawyer. They are both easy to work with and keen to provide holistic support. Have only had positive experiences with Birketts - I often recommend to clients.

18 June 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

Thank you for your 5 star review and recommendation of Birketts and our Family Team. We're delighted that Francesca has been able to help.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Family matter, well handled

Difficult family matter was handled promptly and tactically by Francesca. She always responded quickly with robust advice. Thanks, I will continue to use.

20 April 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

Thank you for leaving a 5 star review for Francesca Skakel in our Family Team. We're delighted she was able to help and have passed your kind words along to her.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Methodical, clear and straightforward

Katie Beaven was a pleasure to work with. She was methodical, clear and straightforward to work with.

12 May 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

Thank you for leaving a 5 star review for Katie Beaven in our Family Team. We appreciate your feedback.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Awful

Awful, avoid!

30 April 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

We can not see any records for you in our system but are keen to learn more about your experience with us. Please could you contact Alison Sparrow, Head of Client Development with more information at alison-sparrow@birketts.co.uk

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Sharon Bell

Sharon Bell is an outstanding legal professional. She put my nerves at ease, I felt as though I was in very capable hands throughout the entire process.

17 April 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

Thank you for leaving a review for Sharon in our Private Wealth Disputes Team. We have passed on your kind words.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Emily Turner has been nothing but…

Emily Turner has been nothing but purely proffessional. She / her has helped more than was expected with other circumstances and has been most pleasant throughout the work. Emily has worked at hours I would not expect from her and has helped out with various other issues I have needed to resolve and am very grateful for the assistance supplied during this transaction. I would recommend the use of Emily at any time,

24 April 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

Thank you for leaving a 5 star review for Emily Turner in our Residential Real Estate Team. We appreciate your feedback.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

very disappointed

I have been a devoted client of Birkett’s for over 10 years. Unfortunately, with the recent departure of our legal advisor from the company, the level of support and professionalism has significantly declined.
It seems that Birkett’s is now more focused on serving larger corporate clients, which no longer aligns with the needs of smaller, individual matters.
We sought advice on a sensitive issue related to our ‘current’ immigration status and were met with dismissal and hostility. When we asked further questions regarding our upcoming status, we were met with cold indifference.
After maintaining a positive and trusting relationship for over a decade, this sudden shift in service has been extremely disappointing. As a result, we will no longer be returning to Birkett’s for our legal needs.

11 March 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

We are disappointed to read your feedback. Having looked into this further, we are confident Birketts acted professionally and sensitively in handling this matter. The firm is, and always has been, committed to providing the highest standards of legal services to all of our clients, and will continue to do so in the future. We would, of course, be happy to continue discussions offline should you wish.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Shibli at Birketts has been Fantastic!

Shibli at Birketts has been Fantastic!
So incredibly responsive to queries and very proactive. Swift, easy transaction, cannot fault her!

19 March 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

Thank you for leaving a five star review. We have passed your kind comments along to Shibli.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellence service

Shibli Begum and her assistant Jamie-Lee recently completed the sale and purchase of our home. We are blown away by the service we were provided. No matter the time of day Shibli would always update us on the latest position of our transaction and explained all the legal jargon extremely well which we were very grateful for. Jamie-Lee was also very helpful when it came to signing documents and keeping us updated. We would recommend Shibli and Jamie-Lee to anyone and would definitely be using their services again.

11 March 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

Thank you for taking the time to leave a five star review for Shibli and Jamie-Lee. We're delighted they were able to help and wish you lots of happiness in your new home.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Conveyancing for purchase of a property in Cambridge

Birketts undertook the conveyancing for me, of the purchase of a residential property in a village near Cambridge. The service was excellent, queries were dealt with quickly and comprehensively and the process was explained clearly. Good communication was maintained between the parties and I had confidence in the whole process. Shibli Begum my solicitor was very courteous and helpful.

22 October 2024
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

Thank you for taking the time to leave a five star review. We have passed your kind words along to Shibli. Please do let us know if we can help again in the future.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Highly Recommend

We highly recommend using Birketts for the sale or purchase of a property. We recently worked with Shibli, and we cannot recommend her highly enough. Despite having to deal with complications caused by an extremely difficult and uncooperative solicitor on our buyer’s side, Shibli remained professional and incredibly efficient throughout the entire process. Her communication was always clear and timely, and she ensured we were fully informed at every stage.

24 October 2024
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

Thank you for leaving a 5 star review for Shibli Begum and our Residential Real Estate Team. We're so glad that Shibli was able to help.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Exceptional service from Shibli and the Residential Real Estate TeamSimilar to a couple of other reviews I…

Similar to a couple of other reviews I have read on your website our experience of working with Shibli and Jamie in your residential property team was exceptional. Shibli was so communicative and her advice was received regularly and was always concise. Where necessary we had several conversations in which it was so beneficial to have frank discussions about some of the trickier legal issues. We had one property sale fall through because we decided to pull out and Shibli's advice was crucial in our decision. Hindsight showed that this was absolutely the right course of action. We soon moved on to another transaction and were able to go from first offer to completion in six weeks. As well as Shibli pulling out all the stops our vendors also had a very good solicitor too so it shows what can be done when the legal stars are aligned! We would wholeheartedly recommend employing the services of Shibli and her team in any residential property purchase.

27 September 2024
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

Thank you for taking the time to leave such a lovely review for Shibli, Jamie-Lee and our Residential Property Team. We're delighted to hear that Shibli was able to help, advise and guide matters to completion for you. Please do let us know if we can be of any help in the future.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great communication

Great communication and all work was done thoroughly. Very friendly as well especially Emily Egan. Would definitely recommend.

4 September 2023
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

Thank you for leaving a five star review. We have passed your kind words along to Emily and our Commercial Real Estate Team.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

We had the pleasure of working with Krishma Bathia

We had the pleasure of working with Krishma Bathia and the team at Birketts LLP for my wife's Indefinite Leave to Remain application, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the service we received. From start to finish, Krishma was incredibly responsive, consistently providing clear and practical advice that made the entire process seamless. She guided us through every step with professionalism and a genuine commitment to ensuring the best possible outcome. Thanks to Krishma’s expertise and support, we felt confident and well-prepared throughout the application process and my application was approved. We highly recommend Krishma Bathia and Birketts to anyone seeking assistance with their visa applications.

1 August 2024
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

Thank you for taking the time to leave a 5 star review for Krishma and our Immigration Team. We're delighted we were able to help and that your application was approved. Please do let us know if we can be of any help in the future.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Sara-Michelle Colvin is fantastic for your immigration needs.

Sara-Michelle Colvin is fantastic!

Sara-Michelle managed our ILR application as contracted by my partner's company. When it was time for us to go for citizenship, we knew we wanted to work with her again. The process was so simple, and she kept us up to date the whole time, answering all of our questions. Our application was successful and we would recommend her to anyone looking to apply for citizenship

20 May 2024
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

Thank you for taking the time to leave a 5 star review for Sara-Michelle and our Immigration Team. We're delighted we were able to help again and look forward to working with you in the future should you need us.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Incredibly slow service

Incredibly slow service of providing a report when buying a property.
Started the process in October and only recieved the report in May.
Gaynor Smith who dealt with my case was uncommunicative throughout the process which meant I had no idea what was happening or why it was taking so long.
The produced report was incomprehensible - far too much information gathered and no report to interpret it from a legal standpoint. Unsure what the £3000 price tag paid for.

26 October 2023
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

We are sorry to read your review. Having spoken to the team in question, we understand significant difficulties were experienced in obtaining information and replies from the seller’s solicitors. Having discussed the issues with you, a report was provided under the proviso that it did not contain information relating to the outstanding enquiries. We are sorry to hear that despite this you remain dissatisfied with our service. If there is anything else you wish to discuss, please contact Ali Sparrow, Head of Client Development at alison-sparrow@birketts.co.uk.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

This awful company and associate…

This awful company and associate company PJN legal refuse to accept their responsibility for my losing my employment and potentially costing me £750k. It has also left me mentally disabled with no future prospects. Please do not instruct this company on anything they biased and unfair in there approach to sensitive situations.
Update 17/10/23 - I was very much a customer of Birketts LLP and PJN and have proof of their appointment which I have used to justify this review on 2 occasions. They are just trying to avoid the inevitable but continue to choose the denial route to avoid any future compensation. Please learn form my horrible lesson dealing with this company.

13 September 2023
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

We were sorry to read your review. We have spoken to the team and we understand that you are not a client of Birketts. However, one of our colleagues has been in contact with you to discuss this matter directly.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Incompetent lawyers who do more harm…

Incompetent lawyers who do more harm than good

22 April 2024
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

We are keen to learn more about your experience with Birketts. Please contact Head of Client Development, Alison Sparrow with further details: alison-sparrow@birketts.co.uk

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

5* service!

Brenda was amazing! She took on the work as if it were her own and effectively explained all technical concepts ensuring I was up to speed at all stages. 
Would highly recommend.

Thanks,
Tobi

15 March 2024
Unprompted review
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Reply from Birketts

Thank you for taking the time to leave a five star review for Brenda Minta and our Residential Property Team. We're delighted we were able to help. Please do let us know if we can be of assistance in the future.

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