About
Marsh & Bell has advised people in Norwich and Norfolk since 1978. Fourteen of us work from one building on Upper St Giles Street, and the partners still carry their own files.
Hourly billing rewards slow work and punishes clients for asking questions. So conveyancing, wills, powers of attorney, uncontested divorces and settlement agreements are all fixed fees, agreed before we start. Where a matter genuinely cannot be priced up front, such as a contested financial remedy, you get an estimate for each stage and we come back to you before we pass it.
The rest of how we work follows from that. If the fee is fixed, we have every reason to answer your call today rather than bill you for reading the file twice.
Client care
Every matter starts with a written quote or an hourly estimate with a cap. If the job changes, we tell you before the cost does.
You get a person, a direct dial and an email address. Not a case reference and a general enquiries inbox.
Advice you can act on without a dictionary, confirmed in a letter you can read twice and show to your family.
Every call and email is answered within one working day, even if the answer is that we need longer to look at it.
The firm
Every solicitor here is on the roll and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Their numbers are below so you can check them.
Runs the conveyancing department and still handles her own files. Rebecca introduced the Thursday update after too many clients told her the worst part of moving was the silence.
Resolution member and accredited mediator. Idris has appeared in the Norwich family court for twenty five years and settles far more cases than he argues.
Does most of her first meetings at kitchen tables across Norfolk. Hannah writes the plain English clause notes that go out with every draft will.
Acts for employees on settlement agreements and for small employers on getting the process right the first time. Turns most agreements around in two days.
Handles new build and shared ownership purchases, where the developer deadline is the whole game. Priya has never missed a reservation expiry.
Runs the office, the client account and the complaints file. If a matter goes quiet, George is the one who notices.
Complaints
Tell George Utting, our practice manager, in writing. He acknowledges within three working days and gives you a full answer within eight weeks. If you are still not satisfied, the Legal Ombudsman will look at it, normally within six months of our final response. Your client care letter carries their address and the time limits in full.
Fifteen minutes on the phone is usually enough for us to tell you whether you need a solicitor at all.