Reflecting on the past, present and future with Browell Smith & Co

Many of us use Christmas as time to reflect on the past and look to the future – even though we can’t change one, and often have little control over the other.

It’s a festive tradition for which Charles Dickens can take a lot of credit – his well-told story, A Christmas Carol, deals with the idea of using our past and current experiences to make a better future for ourselves and for others.

It’s a core theme that chimes very firmly with the whole team at Browell Smith & Co Solicitors – we have been using the slogan For Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow to describe the way our services can help people through every major milestone of their lives.

We even ran a recent photo competition asking people to send in their favourite pictures of years gone by – the winner was featured in this festive advert:

At Browell Smith & Co, we want to support you throughout your life: celebrating with you during the good times – births, marriages, house moves – and supporting you through tougher times as well – deaths, disputes, divorces, separations, injury and illness.

How do we do this? Let us explain…

Yesterday

As a firm, Browell Smith & Co is rooted in the North East. We have been serving the region for decades, and hope to do so for many more.

We understand what makes people from the North East tick: our firm was set up by North East people, for North East people. (Our reputation as a firm that fights for its clients and gets results means we also work for a lot of people from outside the region, but we have never, and never will, forget our roots.)

We have often dealt with many different generations of the same family. Circumstances dictate that we don’t always meet in the happiest of times, but we handle cases as carefully and sensitively as if we were working for our own families. The respect we show and the results we achieve mean people come back to us time and again – and recommend us to their friends and family members, too.

A note about asbestos

It’s impossible to talk about the 20^th Century in the North East without mentioning asbestos. The use of the deadly substance was widespread in heavy industry across the region, especially in the shipyards along the Tyne and the Wear.

Although the use of asbestos is firmly consigned to the past, it still casts a deadly shadow over our region. The nature of asbestos-related diseases mean they develop slowly over time, and sometimes symptoms don’t present themselves until decades after the original exposure took place.

This means that asbestos still kills thousands of people each year across the UK – scores of whom are from the North East.

Browell Smith & Co has a reputation as one of the best firms to come to if you are preparing a fight for justice as a result of an asbestos-related condition, whether it’s you or a family member who has been affected. As always, we treat all our clients as individuals and handle each case as the unique entity that it is.

Present

In all our years’ experience, we have developed a good understanding of what clients want from their law firm: they want a successful outcome, and they want to see that their case is as important to us as it is to them.

We understand that whatever you are going through, if it requires a solicitor, then it is probably the most important thing happening in your life at that precise moment. Our attitude always reflects that, and we treat all our clients with the importance they deserve.

We offer countless services and can’t list them all here, but rest assured, whether it’s a house move, planning your future, dealing with care home fees for an elderly relative, negotiating a divorce, or trying to get your life back on track after an injury, your case will be handled professionally, efficiently and with courtesy by a trained and senior member of our team.

Sometimes, the present is so huge it’s impossible to see past it: we’ll give you support and help you to get past whatever you’re going through as smoothly as possible.

Future

None of us do enough planning for the future – quite often because we are so busy dealing with the present – but it is vital to make time, when you can, to consider what might be around the corner.

Making a will is one of the simplest single things you can do to plan for your future – it will make sure your wishes are respected after you die and can prevent your loved ones from enduring a lot of heartache and difficulties.

People usually put off making a will for far too long: if you are married, have children, or own a house with somebody, then it is critical to have a will in place. This is especially true of co-habiting couples who are not married.

We also offer other services to allow you to plan for the future – whether it’s your future or that of an older relative, or your children. We can help to set up lasting power of attorney, which allows you to appoint someone to help make decisions for you, if you are unable to make decisions for yourself.

We can also help to make provisions for care home fees: this is a difficult issue to negotiate, and we work with scores of people each year to ensure they are looked after properly.

Whether you or a family member has needed our help in the past, whether you need us for an issue right now, or whether you are planning for your future, Browell Smith & Co has the experience to stand right by your side and help you every step of the way: For Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.