About Us

Rowberry Morris is a very well established firm of solicitors. From our offices in Reading, Staines, Tadley and Richmond we provide good value and friendly services to individuals and businesses.  

The firm’s lawyers provide a personal service tailored to clients’ particular needs, delivered with a high degree of professionalism at reasonable cost. Over time four of the firm’s partners have been made local judges in the Thames Valley area. 

Rowberry Morris believes in building long-lasting relationships and showing loyalty to clients. Its partners and solicitors have considerable expertise and experience in their areas of specialism and many are members of expert panels. 

 

Why use Rowberry Morris?

Only qualified lawyers will deal with your conveyancing matter supported by a dedicated assistant.

All of our property lawyers specialise in property work and have the experience and authority necessary to deal with any situation that may arise. All of our property lawyers are experienced Solicitors, Chartered Legal Executives or Licensed Conveyancers. You can see the personal profile of the lawyer representing you on the “People” section of our website.

You will know from the start the lawyer dealing with your matter.

We do not operate in “teams” as do many of the centralised conveyancing and internet firms and others. You will know who to speak to when you call us rather than have to speak to a junior team member (often one of 5 or more people) who will know little about you or your matter save for what they read on their computer. The importance of a local and accessible solicitor becomes apparent when difficulties arise in a transaction or where you just need to speak to or see someone in person who has thorough personal knowledge of your transaction or where matters need dealing with urgently.

We are local and like to see you. We like to see clients whenever possible.

Some conveyancing firms will only deal with matters by post, (which is not surprising when they can be so far away!) A property transaction is one of the largest financial transactions you will ever undertake and a face to face discussion, particularly about a property purchase, can clarify a lot of issues on what can be a complicated transaction. We can arrange appointments Monday to Friday.

We do not pay estate agents referral fees.

If you are recommended to a solicitor by many estate agents, it is often only because the estate agent receives a substantial payment from the solicitor as a reward for referring you to them. Estate agents can be quite “pushy” about this, as if you do go to “their” solicitor, it means they receive a “referral fee”. Why else would an estate agent refer you to a solicitor who is often miles away? Some conveyancing firms add this referral fee to your bill! We rely on recommendations from existing clients and the quality of our service, not referral fees.

Our estimate of charges includes all likely charges.

Unlike many centralised and internet conveyancing firms, and some local firms, we DO NOT charge you any extra for paying off any existing mortgage you have or dealing with the new mortgage (if any) on your purchase, if instructed by your lender.

We keep up to date with technology insofar as it can speed up the conveyancing process.

We do most searches on line, have direct Land Registry access and will communicate with you in your preferred format, but we do not allow technology to replace personal contact, advice and assistance.

We can offer other legal services.

Rowberry Morris as a firm has 3 offices with 7 partners. Some of our Solicitors are on specialist Law Society panels. This is important because we have the depth to deal with most legal issues arising, however complex, in a transaction. We do not just deal with conveyancing and hope to build a rapport with clients to service your other legal requirements.

We do not operate a call queuing system.

We endeavour to answer our telephones and return calls promptly.

Accreditations

You can be assured that we offer the best standard of service. Our firm is audited regularly and consistently achieve Lexcel accreditation and ISO 9001. 

We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority and listed in the Legal 500 in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 as a leading firm. 

In 2011, Rowberry Morris was the winner of the Best Professional Practice Award in Richmond, and Peter Reynolds was given the award by the Secretary of State for Business, Mr Vince Cable (now Sir Vince Cable). 

Our solicitors’ professional memberships and affiliations include: 

  • The Law Society specialist panels 
  • Resolution 
  • Lifetime Lawyers
  • Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists 
  • Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners 
  • Community Legal Service 
  • Association of Personal Injury Lawyers 
  • Family Mediators 
  • STEP 

History

On 1 April 1943 Gilbert Rowberry opened a law firm in Gloucester, under his name. This was, of course, during the war. He had one client and no money to pay the rent, which was due at the end of the month. Although the office was almost impossible to find, Gilbert Rowberry was fond of saying “If you preach a good sermon in the middle of a wood, the public will beat a path to your door.”

Sixteen years later, on 30 September 1958, his son Neil, aged 23, opened a new office in Reading in Friar Street. Neil’s brother, Anthony Rowberry, joined him as a partner a couple of years later.

The firm bought its current premises in Castle Street, Reading, in 1971 and renovated the building. Rowberry Morris were the only solicitors on the street at the time. The police station and Magistrates Court were opened soon after, which made the location attractive to other firms. Nowadays, with several other solicitors’ firms in Castle Street, it is dubbed ‘solicitors’ street’.

The building dates from the 1600s and is made from ship timbers. It is of significant historical importance. Once a year the office opens its doors to visitors with a keen interest in local culture and history. The buildings previous uses include an inn, a brewery and a doctor’s surgery. Some say it is haunted, although the friendly ghost has only been seen twice since Rowberry Morris acquired the premises.

Further offices were opened in the mid-60’s in Tadley, Crowthorne (now Rowberrys) and Staines. The firm originally offered mainly conveyancing transactions, later branching out into wills and probate, litigation and family matters.

Both Rowberry brothers served on the Reading Council. Neil was also on the Berkshire Council at one stage. His building development company has also contributed to providing more than 300 new homes in the Reading area. The Rowberrys’ business sense, charisma and professionalism were second to none and most certainly contributed to us building such strong long-lasting relationships with our clients over time. We are a well known and highly respected in the Thames Valley and we boast a number of well-respected memberships and affiliations.

We take great pride in the achievements of our lawyers: two of our partners were appointed as full time judges and our former senior partner, Richard Leathem, holds two part time judicial appointments. Neil Rowberry was proud that “We never lost a client. 30 years on, my original clients were still with the firm”.

Complaints procedure 

We are committed to providing high quality legal advice and client care. In the unlikely event that you are unhappy about any aspect of the service you have received or about our charges, please contact the individual named as having overall responsibility for your matter. This information will be set out in the engagement letter sent to you at the beginning of your matter. We have a procedure in place which details how we handle complaints and can be made available to you. 

If you wish to follow up your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman please contact them at: www.legalombudsman.org.uk/helping-the-public