CEL Solicitors Reviews

3.1

40% would recommend to a friend

(82 total reviews)

36% positive business outlook

CEL Solicitors has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 82 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The CEL Solicitors employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Legal industry (3.8 stars).

Reviews by job title

82 reviews
1.0
29 Oct 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I have made friends for life and was introduced to amazing members of management (before they were sacked or left on their own accord).

Cons

When I first started at CEL, I thoroughly enjoyed the position. The financial remuneration was good, the team spirit was akin to an extended family, the workload was manageable, we finished every Friday at 15:30 and we would have various fun events that made the company a joy to work for. What on earth could go wrong? The change in management. After Christmas, the company was never the same. All of a sudden, the targets were dramatically increased, the bonus changed, over 12 members of staff were sacked in one day, people constantly handed in their notices with no job to go to, the employment of external managers (who for the majority, did not have a clue) and this led to an immediate drop in staff morale. We were also no longer permitted to have rubbish bins at our desk due to the firm's financial issues. Overtime would be offered one month, then taken away in the next. Hardly the actions of a successful, thriving firm. But it's okay, as one of the CEO's famously said "no one has died!" One staff member was told after a week they did not have a job for her anymore due to cutbacks, albeit fast forward 3 months they are hiring again. The legal assistants were all let go at once due to a 'change in structure.' This meant that even though you were hired as a paralegal, you were also expected to take 13 calls a day for other file handlers whilst managing a caseload of over 200 clients. As a previous review has stated, the role here is parallel to working in a call centre at times. Instead of taking the time to concentrate on client care and progress their files, the firm would rather you juggle answering the phone instead of hiring more support staff. My advice to any Law graduate would be to go to a firm where you will actually practice litigation instead of using AI to type out a Letter of Complaint to the banks and then draft a form to the Financial Ombudsman. Whilst the pink office may look fancy and you will be promised a training contract, you will more than likely be shunned from other law firms due to a lack of experience litigating. The social environment is analogous to a school playground, where management will go out of their way to ensure you are bullied out of the workplace if they do not have the grounds to sack you. Over 60 people had left the company (some voluntarily) in the space of a year. That fact alone is a testament to how the company is failing. As previously mentioned, I had the pleasure of meeting some of the best colleagues I have ever worked with but they realised their worth a lot sooner than what I did and have all gone onto bigger and better opportunities. Their slogan is People Before Profits, yet the directors go to San Carlo on boozy lunches, they have scrapped the bonus which made the job a living wage and they now overcharge client's on the new CFA. The starting salary was £21,000 but they complained about the bonus driving poor habits. If you paid your staff fairly to begin with, perhaps said poor habits would have not derived in the first place? There are many positive reviews on this Glassdoor. I think it is important to highlight that these appraisals were paid for by a hefty sum of £100. My advice would be for anyone applying for a position at CEL, give more leverage to the authentic reviews which have been classed as 'helpful'.

1.0
6 Sept 2024

Living nightmare

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Paralegals build strong trauma bonds from working there which is nice.

Cons

1. Over 40 people were fired or quit during the first 6 months of 2024. These figures say enough on their own, particularly given the drastic rise in people choosing to leave without jobs lined up. Despite claims that there are 150-200 employees, the current number is probably much lower than 100. This is a significant number of the workforce that has left. 2. Unrealistic expectations and excessively large numbers of files assigned. The number of files each person has increases every time there is a mass firing/lots of people leave the business due to dissatisfaction. This makes the workload unbearable. 3. Targets that are only obtainable if you want to copy and paste letters and do not care about the clients. New starters were told by the CEO that they should be working free overtime on Saturdays for £21k. This is ridiculous. Does she not realise that multiple people already have to work a second job to supplement this pitiful wage? 4. Complete double standards. Management are allowed to drink through lunches (instagram post of wine glasses captioned ‘business meeting’ proving this), take 1 hour 40 minute lunches, numerous vape/cigarette breaks throughout the day whilst paralegals are consistently berated for not working hard enough to meet targets/not answering enough phone calls. 5. New managers who replaced competent individuals with minimum 2:1 law degrees. New managers do not have a legal background/degree/do not understand the job. This is highlighted by the way they are only able to add commas when reviewing letters. Paralegals do not bother going to these managers to have questions answered as they have no idea what they are doing. It is no surprise that these managers have either been fired or moved to a different role due to lack of competency. Furthermore, you can repeatedly see the CEO using the wrong ‘your’ and ‘you’re’ on LinkedIn which is mortifying. This proves the ineptitude of management at all levels. 6. Working in a glorified call centre. Certain managers being more concerned with us picking up phone calls than actually being productive. If managers were that concerned, perhaps they could also answer the phone rather than spending the day gossiping with HR, brown nosing, following the CEO around like a lost puppy, taking a minimum of 5 vape breaks daily and excessive boozy lunches. 7. HR who are certainly not impartial, highlighted by them being invited to the CEO’s child’s birthday party. 8. Horrific atmosphere due to people getting fired at the drop of a hat. We are told that our jobs are safe but this is a complete lie and anyone who thinks otherwise clearly has not been with the company long enough to realise that the only people the CEO’s care about are themselves. They have no loyalty to anyone. There is no job security and everyone is constantly applying and interviewing for other positions. 9. Manipulative mind games played by management. Putting all fraud paralegals names on pieces of paper on a wall in a glass boardroom so we know they are discussing us. Mass firing took place a week later. 10. Placing loads of people on PIPs that will be used to justify a mass firing in a few months time once ‘Celia’ takes their jobs. 11. Being incredibly dishonest to clients about who/what is writing their letters and forcing paralegals to be selective with the truth in relation to this. This does not uphold the SRA principles of acting with honesty and integrity. The lack of integrity and liability attached to this was one of the main reasons I left. 12. Consistent unprofessionalism - why was the events team firing people? 13. Hiring people for roles and then telling them that the job does not exist under a week before they begin. Once again, showing a complete disregard for other people outside of senior management. Potentially, these people could have moved to a new city and rented a flat on the basis of this job. Another example of the complete lack of morals held by management who are entirely avaricious in nature. 14. Management selling a lie that they care about mental health and well-being. This is a ploy used on social media to encourage people to apply. If they really cared about people’s mental health, the workload would be manageable and fair in respect of the salary that you could get for waiting tables. You would also be kind, treat your employees with respect and not constantly threaten them with being fired. 15. Being blamed as teams for the financial position of the company when it is the fault of management for over expansion and a lack of business acumen. If you were that concerned, you could sell a Bentley. Since leaving this nightmare job, I am no longer averaging 2/3 hours of sleep a night. As a result, my mental health has massively improved. Anyone considering applying should look at the only authentic reviews on this site which are 1/2 stars. You should note that these are the only ones with likes from other people (although now I have pointed this out, it is likely that management will start paying their employees to like the false 4/5 star reviews which have obviously been obtained through financial incentives following the mass influx of negative ones). The 5* ‘I regret leaving’ post dated 8 August 2024 is hilariously fake. I would like to think that a proper manager would not have numerous grammatical mistakes in a 3 line post.

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CEL Solicitors Response
1y
We appreciate all reviews - both good and bad. We'll always look to respond when a review is balanced and seeks to offer constructive feedback. Whilst we don't agree with the content of this review we respect the reviewers right to post it. There is often commentary in reviews about other posts that appear on Glassdoor. This is the nature of the platform, which often contains polarising views. We do however hope that people continue to post, focusing on their personal experience. We will always consider reviews carefully providing they aren't unnecessarily derogatory about the business or its people.
2.0
29 Nov 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

At the time of writing, the owners are both *currently* qualified solicitors - Subject to change! Early dart on Friday Surprisingly liberal views on ayahuasca - not really a positive, however, I was struggling to find any.

Cons

There seems to be a very strong culture of 'those on top are more deserving of respect than those beneath'. For any historians reading this, you will notice rather stark similarities to the Feudal System of the 9th and 15th centuries - Kings/Queens and Peasants... etc. Owners are similar to Ellen Degeneres and James Corden The constant stress of working here caused my dad to leave my mother and I. TL;DR - Systemic bullying is the order of the day!

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CEL Solicitors Response
1y
We appreciate all reviews but will take this one in the spirit its meant. We understand some reviews will be written for effect and accept this is part and parcel of the platform. We're not precious about online trolling and wish anyone who moves on from the firm success in their future careers.
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Glassdoor has 84 CEL Solicitors reviews submitted anonymously by CEL Solicitors employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if CEL Solicitors is right for you.