Clarke & Gee Lawyers

My brother died in Tasmania in April 2021, his family live in the UK. Due to the continuation of lockdown & travel restrictions I was unable to travel to Tasmania to sort out his estate so I had to find Lawyers to deal with all the legal side. I filled in an online form for Clarke & Gee who had been recommended to me. Due to the huge task which I had to undertake as executor I was keen to hire a law firm as quickly as possible, I had to chase them a couple of times for a response but when they finally replied I gave them the benefit of the doubt and proceeded to hire them to sort out my brothers estate.

What then followed was 18 months of constant chasing, being passed from lawyer to secretary to manager with no one taking responsibility for anything. The whole process was stressful and hugely time consuming, we managed to sort probate and even sell my brothers house but it could have been made so much easier with a bit of empathy and professionalism. The fees were considerable as they had charged for sorting out the will and estate and more charges for conveyancing of the house.

In the end I wrote an email explaining how I felt and how I never felt I was an important client but they offered no apology, took no responsibility and told me they didn't actually charge me for all the work they had done!

I have recently been asked by the UK NHS pension dept for proof of my brothers divorce so I emailed Clarke & Gee three weeks ago asking for a copy of the decree absolute. I have had no reply. I even filled in another online form to no avail. In the end I paid for a copy from the FCFCOA and when I received the form it showed that Clarke and Gee were actually the Lawyers my brother had used for his divorce! Once again I have been left feeling like I don't matter and they don't care. Avoid!

Absolutely APPALLING law firm.



18 months + to process a very simple estate. Constant apologies about being understaffed. Broken promises. 6-8 months is acceptable and understandable, triple that... is not.



Delays in payments from their trust to our accounts. No replies to emails about payments. Complete lack of accountability.



11 months after the death and 9 months after engaging, the life insurance agency had still not received the claim; after hassling from me (email chains can confirm this).



Tuesday 16 January the final funds were deposited into their trust account - and as of 6th March, these funds have apparently "Just been transferred" (I found this out via a phone call, because they hadnt responded to emails in 6 days - (note there was a 2.5 week delay due on our end within that)). I have email chains to back up all of this also. It actually took them almost a month to send the distribution forms!



With such a personal matter like the death of a relative you'd think some form of considered communication would be in place, and with a will thats so simple (all funds/assets to his wife); this was not a complicated process so huge delays in communications shouldnt occur. I'm aware that delays from third parties happen, but without constant pushing I'm not sure this would ever have been processed.



Extremely disappointed.

Don't return phone calls, emails, have no empathy, are clearly just in it to make money.

This firm can’t even get the simplest thing correct. The worst legal service I ever had.

Spoke with mandy on the phone, trying to do quote and she hang up without reason ???

Very slow response from lawyers and legal secretaries, cant get appointments when needed cant get them to return phone calls or emails. Feel like they are discrimiating against me. I know they are busy people but I am a paying client and deserve the same as other clients. Not to be ignored my legal situation is as important as all others. Just make sure your chosen lawyer is NOT too busy or you get ignored like I have and still am.