HOW TO HIRE · BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL

How to hire a solicitor in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Three legal systems, three regulators. Here is how to check a solicitor in a minute, what to ask, and what the costs letter must say.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a solicitor in five steps

  1. Work out whose law appliesA will, a house or a dispute in Scotland needs a Scottish solicitor; England and Wales share one system; Northern Ireland has its own.
  2. Look up the person and the firmOn the SRA register, the Law Society of Scotland's Find a Solicitor or the Law Society of Northern Ireland's directory. Both names, not just one.
  3. Send a short summary of the matterDates, the other side, what you want to happen, and the key papers. A solicitor can only estimate what they can see.
  4. Get the costs in writing before work startsA fixed fee, or an hourly rate with the likely hours, VAT and disbursements set out separately.
  5. Read the client care letter, then signIt names who handles your matter, who supervises them and how to complain. Keep it.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

The Solicitors Register

In England and Wales the Solicitors Regulation Authority keeps the register of solicitors and of the firms it regulates. Under the Legal Services Act 2007, court work, conducting litigation, probate applications, conveyancing documents, notarial work and administering oaths are reserved to authorised people, so an unregulated adviser cannot do them. Search with the 'All' tab so the person and the firm both appear; a blank result does not mean the solicitor is regulated somewhere else.

Search the name and the firm on the SRA register, and match the firm's address to the letterhead. sra.org.uk →

Is the firm regulated, or only the solicitor?

A business can employ a solicitor without being an SRA-regulated firm itself. The SRA's protections, including its compensation fund for lost client money, follow regulated firms; an unregulated business that happens to employ a solicitor gives you less.

Look for the firm entry on the register, or click the SRA badge on the firm's website and confirm where it leads. sra.org.uk →

Law Society of Scotland or Northern Ireland

Outside England and Wales the solicitor regulator is different. In Scotland every solicitor giving legal advice is on the Law Society of Scotland's records and complaints go to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission. In Northern Ireland the Law Society of Northern Ireland keeps the Roll of Solicitors and deals with complaints about service and conduct.

Use Find a Solicitor through mygov.scot in Scotland, or the Law Society of Northern Ireland's directory. lawsoc-ni.org →

Costs information in writing

SRA rules require a solicitor to give you cost information in writing, and firms offering some common services, such as buying a home, uncontested probate and dismissal claims, must publish prices on their websites. You can tell the solicitor your budget so they have to warn you before it is passed.

Ask for the fixed fee or estimate in writing and compare it with the firm's published prices. sra.org.uk →

VAT

Legal services are standard-rated, so a solicitor's firm adds 20% to its own charges, whether the matter is on a fixed fee or hourly rates. Registration becomes compulsory once a solicitor's firm has VAT-taxable turnover over £90,000 in any rolling 12 months; from then VAT must be charged and shown as a separate line on the invoice.

Ask the solicitor's firm for the VAT number on the client care letter and for charges, VAT and disbursements set out apart. gov.uk →

“Are you a solicitor, and is your firm regulated by the SRA (or the Law Society where I live)?”

A good answer: A plain yes with a name you can search. If the answer is "I'm a legal consultant" or "we're not a law firm as such", you are not dealing with a regulated solicitor's firm.

“Who will actually do the work, and who supervises them?”

A good answer: A named fee earner and a named supervising solicitor. Trainees and paralegals are normal; not knowing who they are is not.

“Is this a fixed fee or hourly, and what are the likely total costs?”

A good answer: A figure or a range in writing, with the hourly rate, the expected hours and what would push the costs up.

“What disbursements will there be on top?”

A good answer: A list: court fees, search fees, a barrister or an expert, and VAT at 20% on the solicitor's own charges.

“How long is this likely to take, and what do you need from me?”

A good answer: Rough stages and dates, and the papers the solicitor needs to start. Honest solicitors say what depends on the other side.

“Could legal aid or my insurance pay for this?”

A good answer: A solicitor who checks before taking your money: some home insurance includes legal expenses cover, and legal aid covers some family, housing and discrimination problems.

“How do I complain if I am not happy with your service?”

A good answer: The firm's own complaints process first, then the Legal Ombudsman in England and Wales, the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, or the Law Society of Northern Ireland.

Getting the quote right

  • Whether the price is a fixed fee, an estimate or an hourly rate with the hours it expects
  • Who actually attends to your matter, at what grade, and who supervises them: the solicitor named, an employed colleague, or counsel instructed
  • The solicitor's charges
  • The VAT number, with VAT at 20% on the solicitor's charges, and each disbursement listed on its own
  • Disbursements listed one by one: court fees, searches, barrister or expert fees
  • What is outside the fee and what would make the costs rise
  • Who does the work, at what grade, and who supervises them
  • In writing in the client care letter; a figure given on the phone is not a quote

Walk away if

  • The person or the firm is not on the solicitor register for your nation
  • No costs information in writing before the work starts
  • Your money is to be paid into a personal bank account, not the firm's client account
  • They promise a result in court or at a tribunal
  • They will not say who will handle your matter
  • A will writer or adviser calls themselves a solicitor but cannot give an SRA or Law Society number
LOW
£140
TYPICAL
£250
HIGH
£579

What a solicitor costs: £140–£579 per hour

Solicitors charge by the hour for open-ended work and quote fixed fees for routine matters such as a will or a simple divorce; disbursements and VAT sit on top of the fee. Solicitor price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Solicitors near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you, or book by the hour.

  1. First conversationThe solicitor hears the problem, checks there is no conflict with the other side, and says whether they can help and roughly what it costs.
  2. Identity and engagementThey confirm who you are and send the client care letter with the costs, the team and the complaints route.
  3. Advice in writingYour options, the risks and a recommended route, in a letter or email you can reread.
  4. The workLetters, negotiation, documents, or court or tribunal steps, with updates when costs or timing change.
  5. Close and final billThe matter is wrapped up, the final bill is sent with a breakdown, and any money held for you is returned.

Client care letter
The letter at the start that sets out the work, the costs, who does it and how to complain.
Disbursements
Costs the solicitor pays out for you, such as court fees or searches, passed on at cost.
Fee earner
Whoever does the work and records time on your matter; it may be a trainee or paralegal.
Reserved legal activities
The six kinds of legal work that only authorised people may do in England and Wales.
Client account
The firm's separate bank account for clients' money, kept apart from its own.
Counsel
A barrister instructed by your solicitor, usually for advice on a hard point or to appear in court.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the client care letter and every billIt shows what was agreed, the fee basis and how to complain. Bills should match the estimate or explain why not.
Check the outcome against what you asked forA signed agreement, a registered title, a court order: ask for copies of the final documents for your own file.
Ask for your papers and any money heldAsk for any money still held for you to be paid back, and ask how long the firm keeps your file and how to get it.
Leave the reviewOnly booked work can be reviewed on Locufy. If the solicitor's service fell short, the make-it-right step comes first: they are asked to put it right before the review goes live.

STEP 1Write to the solicitor's firmUse its complaints procedure, named in the client care letter. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 a solicitor providing a service must use reasonable care and skill, and you can ask for poor work to be done again or the bill reduced.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyScore the solicitor below four stars and you choose whether the firm sees the problem first. We follow it up; then the review is published.
STEP 3The ombudsman or the regulatorEngland and Wales: the Legal Ombudsman for poor service once the firm has had its chance, and the SRA for dishonesty or misuse of client money. Scotland: the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission. Northern Ireland: the Law Society of Northern Ireland.
STEP 4A claim for moneyA fee dispute with a solicitor can go to the small claims process: up to £10,000 in England and Wales, £5,000 under simple procedure in Scotland, and £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a solicitor: questions people ask

In England and Wales search the person and the firm on the SRA's Solicitors Register. In Scotland use Find a Solicitor through mygov.scot, and in Northern Ireland the Law Society of Northern Ireland's directory.

In England and Wales the Legal Services Act 2007 reserves court work, litigation, probate applications, conveyancing documents, notarial work and oaths to authorised people. General advice and most contracts are not reserved, but only a regulated firm gives you the ombudsman and compensation fund.

SRA rules require written cost information: a fixed fee, an estimate, or an hourly rate with the likely hours. It should list disbursements and VAT, and you can set a budget the solicitor must warn you about.

£140–£579 an hour, typically around £250. Many everyday matters are offered at a fixed fee instead. The solicitor price guide has the breakdown; enter your town above for prices from solicitors near you.

Possibly, for some problems such as eviction, protection from abuse, discrimination and family mediation, and only if you pass the means test. Legal aid in Scotland and Northern Ireland has its own rules, applied through a solicitor.

If an SRA-regulated firm in England and Wales has taken or failed to account for client money, the SRA Compensation Fund may pay. It is discretionary and you usually need to apply within 12 months of finding out.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in business & professional

How to hire: Conveyancing SolicitorHow to hire: Employment Law SolicitorHow to hire: Family Law SolicitorHow to hire: Wills & ProbateHow to hire: Immigration LawyerHow to hire: Notary PublicHow to hire: ParalegalHow to hire: Tax AdvisorAll 701 hiring guides →

Solicitors near you

Solicitors in LondonSolicitors in ManchesterSolicitors in BirminghamSolicitors in GlasgowSolicitors in BelfastAll solicitors on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. SRA — the Solicitors Register
  2. Legal Services Act 2007, section 12 — reserved legal activities
  3. SRA — understanding costs
  4. SRA — look out for our logo
  5. SRA — how the compensation fund works
  6. mygov.scot — using a solicitor
  7. Law Society of Northern Ireland — finding a solicitor
  8. gov.uk — legal aid
  9. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  10. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue
  11. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  12. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  13. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register