Pearsons Lawyers

STAY AWAY.
I was unaware when I selected this company they had a reputation for grossly overcharging. Rip people off and don't care about you.

My close friend unfortunately had to use this firm for family law matters and the lawyer was absolutely useless. She took a very long time to respond and also delayed the process and did not strongly advocate for her best interest.

Avoid. You're given the 'Grand tour' for the first 'Free' discussion with one of their heavy hitters and told a solicitor will be 'Helping' them with your case. This equates to the solicitor doing everything. I was advised by the solicitor that a part of my case was not relevant and then advised by a partner it was a key part of my case! Double and triple handling help keep the costs coming.

Their charging model is designed to absolutely recover literally EVERY SECOND of the time they might spent in your case.
I came to them to formalise the financial agreement between my ex-husband and myself. My husband and I had already agreed to our asset split and the cost of preparing the agreement should have been minimal.
My husbands lawyer prepared the agreement and their charge to him for all advice and services was $1,100.
Pearsons charged me over $7000 for doing nothing!
How this place works
Step 1 - first phone consultation is free after that every breath they take they will change you without explanation as to where your money has gone and why you have to pay more!
Step 2 - you have to add $2500 in their account otherwise they won’t do anything! I paid what they asked for
And after 1 phone calls, 2 emails, 1 meeting of less than 10 minutes! All the $2500 is gone. (there was no advice involved with these calls and emails I only explained to them about our agreement)
Step 3 - I have received an email advising I needed to add another $3000 to their account otherwise they won’t do anything! No explanation or invoice.
When I demanded an invoice, they sent an invoice that was very confusing (my ex husband is accountant he even struggled to understand their invoice) what we found out was they charge the same thing over over again and even charged to read the email when I complained about their charges.
Also during the exchange of email I discovered other mistakes in their billing and asked them to correct, I was charged for their time to read emails highlighting their errors.
Step 4 - I received another email to pay $3000 – at this point I said no more and they agreed that if I pay $750 that will be the final bill from them.
I now think I am done with Pearson’s!
Some weeks later I get an email / SMS demanding I pay another $450. I have refused to pay this amount as it was already agreed in writing the $750 above was the final amount due.

DO NOT USE THIS FIRM. Pearsons are completely incompetent, they stuffed up my final orders, then blamed me because I signed them. My ex thanked me for using this lot as she got $70,000.00 more than she anticipated because Pearsons wrote it up as a notation not an order. A notation isn't enforcable. I thought I was paying them for their legal expertise.haha. The least caring, unprofessional, money grabbing thieving mob ever. STAY AWAY.

I’m still paying child support and private school fees and lost my home thank you Pearsons for your ineptitude.

A terrible firm. Do not even consider using them.

I have never received an apology and as soon as they knew they’d completely mucked up they refused to represent me.

Took tens of thousands of dollars off me.

The worst result ever.

I was unaware when I selected this company they had a reputation for grossly overcharging. I'm disappointed to say they definitely live up to this reputation. The Glenroy Office underquoted me for their services, in their words "because you don't have a lot of money" to ensure I proceeded with their company, then I had to cease services when the bill succeeded $2000-$4000 of their original quote. When questioned, I was told "it was just an estimate". Lawyer Joe Schepsis spoke negatively of my previous legal worker which I felt was unprofessional, but they were kind enough to allow a payment plan when I couldn't afford their last exorbitant bill, not without three messages and two emails in four days requesting payment when there was a misunderstanding I was trying to clarify. They spare no expense when chasing money, however are happy to charge over $50 to send an email or $150 for a phone call to tell you there are no updates in your case. Do not recommend.

If I could give 0 stars I would.

Spent months with these guys only to come out of it $7000 poorer and nothing to show for it.
I was constantly having to chase them for updates or to find out what was happening.
If I didn't follow up I wouldn't hear from them.
Months were spent "building a case" but it was constantly dragged out with no court date ever being set.
In the end my emails and phone calls were ignored, I tried sending my lawyer multiple emails and never got a response. Even called the office only to be told by the receptionist that my lawyer was always unavailable and they would get them to call me back, guess what? Never got a call back.
I just gave up in the end.

Took my money and did absolutely nothing for me.
My first interaction with a family lawyer and it left a very bad taste in my mouth.

Not happy with the service received. Wasted my money on them. Not recommended. They took long time to response to enquires and very slow progress. Only thing that comes on time is your invoice for the payment.

A company which boosts its star rating by writing its own reviews. Two years ago, this company was 3.1 stars, hardly. Now its a 4.5 and many reviews are of their own and many others are single reviews by people who don't review anything else but were compelled by the brilliant services of Pearson. How wonderful!

Joe your a gun, i cant thank you enough for your assistance. Considering the last min notice you and your team came through for me, i can only imagine what you could of accomplished on a much larger time frame. Straight to the point no bs i only wish I knew about you sooner. Family law specialist see Joe at Pearsons you wont be disappointed. I look forward to working with you in the future and once again i can't express my gratitude enough, better to have him on side than against thats for sure.thank you, thank you! I'll definitely be recommending your firm and your services.

My Father recommended Pearsons Lawyers to me years ago Then recently another trusted referral. From Solicitors Leanne, Brenda, Vertiy, Karen at Reception. The team are fantastic. Understanding. Sincerely interested in protecting your welfare and have your best interests at heart. I feel safe with Pearsons Lawyers looking after me. Thankyou Pearsons Lawyers.

First and worst law firm I have ever worked with. Sure they're "helpful" and "nice" but the costs are insane for the so called "work" that they do. I had not even signed the cost agreement and requested my bond back before doing anything because of a change of circumstances and after reading their cost agreement sent too late and they deduct $500 for the single email they send me regarding the terms and the cost agreement? ! Unbelievable. Appalling. They take notes in the first meeting which is "free" and those notes cost us $165? I'm sorry but what part of the meeting was free? Simply put, it's a scam.

Big shout out to Andrew MacDonald for a great experience. From the initial consultation, Andrew was very informative and reassuring. Throughout the whole process, Andrew remained in constant contact keeping me update and ensured i understood what was going on at all times. He was very professional, on time and easy to communicate with. Highly recommend to anyone needing a solicitor. 5/5

From the first consultation with Leanne, I was in good hands. She is a tough individual and she made it clear the process would be hard. It was. No one in the team promoted inflated expectations, just provided solid work, towards the finalising of my property settlement. The legal process is hard, and slow, no matter who represents you, and I was grateful for the calm advice and support of Louis Horsley and the team. Thoroughly recommend Pearsons, Glenroy team.

Ever since I left my other solicitors and came to Pearsons I felt that I was finally getting the help I needed throughout my case. I was finally able to see progress after two years since the case was initiated. In eight months the result was brilliant for me compared to the previous advice I had received.

I had a difficult and complex case that was causing me a great deal of stress and pain. Thanks to Leanne and Andrew with their professionalism, teamwork and dedication they helped through this difficult time. I was involved throughout the process as they kept me abreast of what was going on and most importantly, comforting me with their friendly approach. I felt like I was in the right hands and I was being heard by all my acting solicitors. Leanne was so understanding of my position and allowed me to carry on with my life without being fully consumed by the case. I was always confident my case was being looked after even in my absences.

Leanne and Andrew don’t see you just as a client to their own financial gain, they understand you and feel your pain. They deserve every cent I paid them. I wouldn’t be in the position where I am without Andrew and Leanne.

Andrew was very punctual with his work, emails and phone calls. I never felt confused or lost during the entire process. I will be forever grateful for your amazing job that you have done Andrew! I can see that Andrew loves what he does and that is why my case was a success. I feel like my life is finally back on track thanks to Andrew’s amazing effort and dedication.

I highly recommend Pearsons to anyone without any doubts. Please believe in yourself, your case and listen to the advice you get from Pearsons. If you follow their instructions you will be more than fine. If there was another rating star, I would give them not five but six stars.

I used Helen, I could not recommended Helen highly enough. Good outcome, great communication and the amount of effort Helen put in was second to none. Hopefully i wont have too, if I had to I would use Pearsons Lawyers again.

Leanne and staff have been very professional with a friendly approach and a thorough work ethic. As a firm I have found them to have great integrity. I would highly recommend their services.

We engaged Joe Schepis and Amanda Vella in our Family Law matter in 2019.
From the start Joe kept me feeling calm, confident and satisfied. I would without doubt highly recommend both Joe and Amanda from Pearson’s Lawyers along with their team who have always been vigilant, productive but very compassionate aswell.
Joe’s knowledge along with his dedication kept me on track and he and Amanda were always there to keep my mind at ease any time I needed it.

This is an update to my post which Ms. Abela was kind enough to respond.

Please people, check and you will find a heap of reviews done in the last four to eight months, by people who have only reviewed this one business. This is a clear sign of doctored reviews, all with five stars intended to give this organisation a better ranking. The real ranking is closer to 2.9. Well under par!

And by the way Leanne, not everyone who posts a review is a competitor or someone unhappy because you represented someone else. Its also poor form when you give yourself a five star ranking. Be a little professional, please.

My last post is below.
In my personal opinion and experience they are a not a very good company and I would go so far as to question their understanding of family law. There are far better city based firms charging similar dollars but with enough work to clear cases quickly and move you on. Shop around, family law is quite complex and some firms are much better than others.

As for the guy who gave them 5 stars, if you check you’ll find he gives everyone five stars.

Leanne Abela complains about customer reviews here whilst giving herself 5 stars and boosting their average star rating. Interesting.

I was recommended by my solicitor to Pearsons Lawyers, and specifically Leanne Abela as a Family Law Specialist. And what a great job Leanne and Anne Ariyaratnam have done. Their professionalism, communication, knowledge and care were outstanding, resulting in the delivery of a fantastic outcome for myself. I highly recommend Pearsons Lawyers.