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How McGarry Law LLP Compares

Value for money

This firm - 62%
National Average
Poor Competitive Excellent

Excellent does not necessarily mean ‘cheap’. It means that clients thought that the level of service received was Excellent for what they paid.

This score has been calculated using up to the last 300 reviews left by clients of McGarry Law LLP on ReviewSolicitors.

As part of our review questionnaire we ask reviewer questions about the value for money they felt they received by using McGarry Law LLP. These questions include:

  • Value for money (a rating of 1-5)
  • How much were you initially quoted or how much did you expect to pay?
  • Approximately how much did you end up spending for the legal services provided (ignoring disbursements and court fees)
  • Did you think this was underpriced, overpriced or about right?
  • Overall experience

We use data science to amalgamate the answers to these questions and create a ‘ReviewSolicitors score’ out of 100. The above chart representation score is a simple percentage representation of the averaged score across those who have reviewed this law firm.

Underpriced 0%
Overpriced 83%
About Right 16%

If you would like to read more about how we work with our review data please see our Transparency section.

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Would recommend to
friends and family

This firm - 70%
National Average
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

ReviewSolicitors uses our community data to show you how many clients used McGarry Law LLP and have had a satisfactory experience where they have indicated that they would recommend the services of the law firm to their friends and family.

You can use this data to see how McGarry Law LLP performs against other law firms nationally. A score close to 100% indicates that this firm is highly valued by their clients.

As part of our review questionnaire we ask the question:

"Would you recommend this firm to somebody else?"

The reviewer can select either “Yes” or “No”.

The above score is a simple percentage representation of the total amount of clients who selected the “Yes” option:

Yes 70%
No 30%

If you would like to read more about how we work with our review data please see our Transparency section.

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Satisfied with
outcome of matter

This firm - 70%
National Average
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

ReviewSolicitors uses our community data to show you how many clients used McGarry Law LLP and were satisfied with the outcome of their matter. Being satisfied with the outcome of your matter is an important consideration to have in mind.

You can use this data to see how McGarry Law LLP compares to the national average of clients being satisfied with the outcome of their matter after instructing a solicitor.

As part of our review questionnaire we ask the question:

"Were you satisfied with the outcome of your case?"

The reviewer can select either “Yes” or “No”.

The above score is a simple percentage representation of the total amount of clients who selected the “Yes” option:

Yes 70%
No 30%

If you would like to read more about how we work with our review data please see our Transparency section.

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Rankings by area of expertise

The rankings below show the areas of expertise that McGarry Law LLP offers to clients. You can see how good the service offered is in comparison to all other law firms nationally.

Data shown above is based on the reviews and client feedback collected by ReviewSolicitors over the last 12 months.

Review Sources

Client Reviews

3.8/5

Reviews summary

  • Excellent

    7
  • Very Good

    0
  • Average

    0
  • Poor

    0
  • Awful

    3

Overall experience

  • Value For Money
  • Communication
  • Initial Impressions
  • Approachability
  • Documentation Accuracy
  • Legal knowledge
Janet and John

Verified review

This review has been left by a verified client who used McGarry Law LLP.

Matter Type:

Wills

Janet and John

March 31, 2025

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Collected on:

Excellent service would fully recommend

Vicky Johnson gave us excellent service throughout our dealings

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Jonathan Smith

Verified review

This review has been left by a verified client who used McGarry Law LLP.

Matter Type:

Commercial Litigation Matters

Jonathan Smith

March 20, 2025

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Collected on:

Possession Order

Mr McGarry,

I recently engaged the services of your firm in a matter of personal assistance to Mrs Brenda Harrison, an old lady who was being treated most unfairly by her Landlord and Matthew was appointed to represent us defending a Possession Order.

I am writing to commend Matthew's performance and superb service throughout proceedings and to convey my gratitude for his wonderful, compassionate behaviour towards Mrs Harrison especially, as she was absolutely terrified and stressed on the day of the Hearing.

Matthew is highly professional and conducted himself accordingly throughout, leading to a successful outcome. Please do make sure you give him a pat on the back!

Kind regards,

Jonathan Smith
Senior Contracts Manager
Lindner Group

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Basil Crichlow

Verified review

This review has been left by a verified client who used McGarry Law LLP.

Matter Type:

Commercial Litigation Matters

Basil Crichlow

March 20, 2025

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Collected on:

Thank You to McGarry & Co

I would like to take a moment to shout out praise and a massive Thank You to Matthew Sharp of McGarry & Co, who successfully represented my small company against Durham County Council, on a very sensitive and complex housing matter. His professionalism in approach and interactions with me were highly evident from the beginning and throughout the process. His calm approach to dealing with the council and their less than efficient processes gave me confidence and his generosity in meeting me and driving me directly to the council offices on the day, was clearly above and beyond the call of duty. I highly recommend McGarry and Co and specifically Matthew Sharp, for any housing matter you may need support on. Thank You Very Much Matthew!


Regards,

Baz

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Susan

Susan

January 09, 2025

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Collected on:

Terrible experience

Michael McGarry is a crook.
He cannot be trusted.
Preys on old vulnerable people so he can take their inheritance.
Treats family members in an applauding manner . At the worst time of your life loosing a loved one he shows only hatred making a difficult situation, 100 times worse .
Please do not use this firm

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Carol

Carol

June 21, 2024

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Collected on:

Lack of care and attention to detail

When my mother lost mental capacity without a Power of Attorney, the family agreed to the appointment of Mr McGarry as independent deputy to manage her finances. This lasted just over 1 year until her death in 2020.

I identified many errors during the deputyship and on reviewing files after assuming role of executor on my mother’s death. Despite errors being identified early in the deputyship, nothing appears to have been done to ensure similar errors were not repeated, many of which were down to a lack of care and attention to detail.
A small example include: -

Email from firm cancelling an appointment with myself, Mum and the Court of Protection visiting officer to discuss the problems, their email stated a different date to that which had been pre-arranged.

Several overpayments of expenses I incurred on behalf of my mother. When I made the firm aware of these, I was given incorrect bank details to make the refunds.

A payment of £7551 in care home fees paid with an incorrect care home reference, when a family member queried the nonpayment of fees the same amount was paid again.

Failed to insure my mother’s property for nearly 7 weeks, despite my help in providing quotations and reminding the firm it was due.

On my mother’s death he failed to provide a complete and accurate handover of financial information, including the omission of a significant investment made by the firm.

They stated closing balance on one bank account was £6k less than the actual closing balance.

Failed to inform me, that they’d engaged the services of a 3rd party to manage a large investment made by the firm. This resulted in the third party continuing to take advisor fees for several months after her death.

A bank transfer for a large investment was made to both an incorrect account number and incorrect reference, thankfully the payment failed.

Deputy accounts submitted to the Office of Public Guardian contained significant errors. Value and quantity of shares held were incorrectly recorded e.g. only 12 shares in one company were recorded, instead of the 1755 owned. 27 in another company instead of 217 and 4924 shares in another company were completely omitted. More concerning was that the errors were carried over from one year’s accounts to the next.

Included in my late mother’s file was documentation containing the full names and confidential financial information relating to 3 of the firms other Court of Protection clients, correspondence relating to a deceased client’s estate and the home council tax bill for Mr McGarry. Despite notifying the firm of these data breaches, they did not respond.

Entries on their bills of costs claimed fees relating to closure of a bank acct. The entry was dated before I handed over any financial information to the firm and 3 months prior to the first bank account they declared as having closed.

Taken payment of fees which exceeded the total of their bills of costs by £305.

Charged court fees for the Senior Courts Cost Office (SCCO) assessment of bills of costs which exceeded the fees paid by the firm. Fees which were never agreed or discussed with me as executor beforehand.

On assessment, amongst other deductions the SCCO reduced his hourly rate by £45 per hour, resulting in a refund due of £2451.70. Despite several requests, over several months, they failed to refund this money, respond to my formal complaint or hasteners to another partner.

As a final attempt to recover the money owed, I made a court application. Only when notice of my court application was served on the firm did they finally refund the money owed in April 2023, with no interest paid, no apology or reason for the delay.

In my opinion, the service provided by the firm could be described as poor at the very best, if my mother had mental capacity, she most certainly would not have allowed the firm to act for her in any capacity.


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Kirsty gibson

Verified review

This review has been left by a verified client who used McGarry Law LLP.

Kirsty gibson

March 26, 2025

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Collected on:

Really good outcome

I recommend the company quickly efficient outcome v grateful

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Anonymous

Verified review

This review has been left by a verified client who used McGarry Law LLP.

Anonymous

March 22, 2025

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Collected on:

COP application

Matthew remained professional and knowledgeable throughout the experience

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Deb & Gav Iceton

Verified review

This review has been left by a verified client who used McGarry Law LLP.

Deb & Gav Iceton

March 18, 2025

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Collected on:

McGarry & Co - Highly Recommended Solicitors

McGarry & Co Solicitors were recommended by a good friend. We required legal assistance to gain possession of a property. From our initial consultation with Matthew Sharp we received excellent advice. Matthew guided us through the legal process which resulted in a successful repossession. We have continued to use McGarry & Co for other legal services. We are more than happy to recommend.

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Andrew Buck

Verified review

This review has been left by a verified client who used McGarry Law LLP.

Andrew Buck

March 18, 2025

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Collected on:

Quarry Grange farm

Matthew was always available to discuss any questions I had.
Matthew managed to communicate with everyone to resolve a long standing dispute.

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Carol

Carol

June 21, 2024

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Collected on:

Lacking any care of attention to detail

When my mother lost mental capacity without a Power of Attorney, the family agreed to the appointment of Mr McGarry as independent deputy to manage her finances. This lasted just over 1 year until her death in 2020.

I identified many errors during the deputyship and on reviewing files after assuming role of executor on my mother’s death. Despite errors being identified early in the deputyship, nothing appears to have been done to ensure similar errors were not repeated, many of which were down to a lack of care and attention to detail.
A small example include: -

Email from firm cancelling an appointment with myself, Mum and the Court of Protection visiting officer to discuss the problems, their email stated a different date to that which had been pre-arranged.

Several overpayments of expenses I incurred on behalf of my mother. When I made the firm aware of these, I was given incorrect bank details to make the refunds.

A payment of £7551 in care home fees paid with an incorrect care home reference, when a family member queried the nonpayment of fees the same amount was paid again.
Failed to insure my mother’s property for nearly 7 weeks, despite my help in providing quotations and reminding the firm it was due.
On my mother’s death he failed to provide a complete and accurate handover of financial information, including the omission of a significant investment made by the firm.
They stated closing balance on one bank account was £6k less than the actual closing balance.

Failed to inform me, that they’d engaged the services of a 3rd party to manage a large investment made by the firm. This resulted in the third party continuing to take advisor fees for several months after her death.
A bank transfer for a large investment was made to both an incorrect account number and incorrect reference, thankfully the payment failed.
Deputy accounts submitted to the Office of Public Guardian contained significant errors. Value and quantity of shares held were incorrectly recorded e.g. only 12 shares in one company were recorded, instead of the 1755 owned. 27 in another company instead of 217 and 4924 shares in another company were completely omitted. More concerning was that the errors were carried over from one year’s accounts to the next.
Included in my late mother’s file was documentation containing the full names and confidential financial information relating to 3 of the firms other Court of Protection clients, correspondence relating to a deceased client’s estate and the home council tax bill for Mr McGarry. Despite notifying the firm of these data breaches, they did not respond.
Entries on their bills of costs claimed fees relating to closure of a bank acct. The entry was dated before I handed over any financial information to the firm and 3 months prior to the first bank account they declared as having closed.

Taken payment of fees which exceeded the total of their bills of costs by £305.
Charged court fees for the Senior Courts Cost Office (SCCO) assessment of bills of costs which exceeded the fees paid by the firm. Fees which were never agreed or discussed with me as executor beforehand.
On assessment, amongst other deductions the SCCO reduced his hourly rate by £45 per hour, resulting in a refund due of £2451.70. Despite several requests, over several months, they failed to refund this money, respond to my formal complaint or hasteners to another partner.

As a final attempt to recover the money owed, I made a court application. Only when notice of my court application was served on the firm did they finally refund the money owed in April 2023, with no interest paid, no apology or reason for the delay.
In my opinion, the service provided by the firm could be described as poor at the very best, if my mother had mental capacity, she most certainly would not have allowed the firm to act for her in any capacity.

Was this review helpful?

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About this branch

Description

We are committed to provide our clients with the best quality service we can. That does not mean always telling clients what they want to hear. It means giving sensible and sometimes frank advice. We are committed to the professional principle that we give advice to our clients irrespective of whether that advice is in our interests or not. Our integrity is everything and we consider that a relationship of trust between our clients and ourselves in paramount. We go beyond the role of “lawyers” and retain the traditional role of a trusted adviser. This can mean that we become involved in the family and business lives of clients and are often being the first port of call for honest, impartial advice.

Regulated by

Solicitors Regulation Authority

Legal services

Personal areas of law

  • Family Law
    • Child Access
    • Child Arrangements Following Divorce
    • Child Custody
    • Child Law
  • Housing & Property
    • Landlord and Tenant
    • Lease Extensions
    • New home purchases and sales
    • Purchase and Sale
    • Renting and Tenancy Agreements
  • Wills, Trusts & Probate
    • Disputed Probate
    • Disputed Trusts
    • Disputed Wills
    • International
    • Probate
    • Trusts
    • Wills
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