Rise Legal (STB) Limited

I purchased my first property, a one-bed in Stanmore and dealt primarily with Sharon Garson and on little occasion with Alli Lipman.

In conclusion, the house was purchased with their help but I was left disappointed and not feeling secure on many fronts. I would caveat that I am cognizant of the London conveyancer/ solicitor market being fairly difficult and the quality of service being poor based on accounts by friends. Nevertheless!:

- Before accepting my file, Sharon did not inform me of a large amount of annual leave she planned to take immediately afterwards. She reassured me that she would work on my file while away but in emails to the seller’s solicitors, she confirmed otherwise. There was also unannounced leave (for a day max) during what I felt were important dates;
- She was very hard to get a hold of on the phone, email or otherwise during the specific dates when deliverables were promised;
- She promised a deadline for her report and missed it without forewarning or an early explanation to allow me to manage my affairs efficiently. I had informed her that I had a complicated tenancy agreement and although she assured me she would work with this in mind, I don’t believe she delivered on that promise;
- I sent her documents which she then forgot she had received so I had to send those again;
- I found her report/ final deliverable difficult to follow at times. Specifically, there were many capitalizations eg “Contract” without a clear indication as to what that document actually was (seller’s pack contained a very large amount of docs of which nothing was titled as such). I also found that some section/ clause numbers of numerous contracts were not correct or i couldn’t find them where her report said I might;
- Various overruns were billed but these were flagged close to completion. Had these been brought to my attention earlier, we might have come to a resolution with regard to minimizing these.

Having said all of the above:
- I appreciated she took on this project even though it needed a tight turnaround;
- When we spoke on the phone, her explanations were clear and helpful, and her attitude was very professional;
- Even after the overruns, I felt that she was priced fairly cheaply and on the lower end of what other solicitors asked of me.

One can often have a misconception about what to expect from a legal practice, you could be forgiven for thinking you're just one of a number. However, I can hand on heart tell you that from the moment Sharon and the team took me on as a client, they helped me every step of the way. Professional, kind and friendly. I can highly recommend Rise Legal. They took the stress of moving house off my shoulders and made it so much easier to contend with.

I used Rise Legal for my first property purchase. Sharon and Alli provided an amazing service. The process was extremely smooth with great communication throughout. I would highly recommend to anyone.

I contacted Rise Legal as I was being blackmailed by a disreputable business who wanted to overcharge me 300% before they would release my property.

The police informed me it was a civil matter as I had no written proof of the original quote.

Jeremy Garson at Rise Legal was excellent, incredibly patient, giving great advice and his time to explain things very clearly and outline all my options. He even drafted an email for me to send to the business, which I received within hours, meaning I was able to act very swiftly.

That evening I was able to think clearly and remain calm and so the next day when I visited the disreputable business in question, to demand my property back, the end result meant that I was overcharged only 50%, which although still disgusting behaviour from the business, I was at least able to get my property back immediately, which was the most important thing.

I would have no hesitation in recommending Jeremy Garson and Rise Legal and will make him my first port of call for all legal matters.

Thank you very much.
Nikki

Would not recommend this company