Find and check a solicitor in London

What London Solicitors Guide is

If you need to find and check a solicitor in London, you probably want a clear starting point rather than a long list of names. That is what this guide offers. London Solicitors Guide is an independent guide to london solicitors, organised by practice area and by borough.

However, it helps to know what the site is not. It is not a law firm, and it does not give legal advice. We do not employ solicitors or act for anyone, so there is no solicitor-client relationship with the people who read these pages.

This site names no law firm and lists none, and it recommends none. However, the guide helps you understand the choices open to you before you approach anyone. It also shows the official routes, so you can check whoever you decide to approach.

Find a solicitor by practice area

Solicitors can give you legal advice on different situations, and some specialise in areas such as divorce or personal injury. Because of that, it makes sense to start with the type of problem you have. The guide covers eight practice areas.

• Separation, divorce and related family matters are covered in family law and divorce.
• Buying, selling and owning property is the focus of conveyancing and property.
• Planning for the future and dealing with a death are covered in wills and probate.
• Problems at work are explained in employment law.
• Questions about status and moving to or staying in the UK sit under immigration.
• Being accused of an offence is covered in criminal defence.
• Disagreements that may need settling are explained under dispute resolution.
• Injuries caused by others are covered in personal injury, which is a guide only.

If you are not sure which area fits, the practice areas overview puts them side by side.

Find a solicitor by borough

This guide organises its pages by place, not only by practice area. Therefore, you can start from your own borough and read the page for it. There are guide pages for 30 London boroughs, and the boroughs page lists them all.

For example, you might look at Bromley, Croydon or Harrow, which each have a page. However, Newham, Enfield and Hounslow are three more boroughs that have pages of their own.

However, three areas are named on the boroughs page without a page of their own yet. These are the City of London, Kensington and Chelsea, and Southwark. If your home or workplace is in one of them, a neighbouring borough page may still help you understand the local picture.

Check that a solicitor is regulated

Before you rely on anyone, check that they really are a solicitor. The SRA Solicitors Register lets you look up the records of the solicitors and law firms the SRA regulates. As a result, you can see whether somebody is a solicitor and where they work.

The SRA describes its register as the definitive impartial source of information about the firms and people it regulates. Its “Choosing a solicitor” page also tells consumers to check the register, which shows whether a firm is regulated by the SRA.

The Law Society Find a Solicitor service is another route. It searches by organisation or person, name or SRA ID, location, area of practice and legal issue. This matters because, according to Legal Choices, the SRA keeps watch over all solicitors in England and Wales. It takes action when they fall below the required standards or act dishonestly.

Our check-a-solicitor page walks you through the steps in more detail.

Free and low-cost legal help

Not everyone can pay for a solicitor, and legal aid may help some people. The GOV.UK “Check if you can get legal aid” service asks about your legal problem, income and savings. It then tells you whether to speak to someone for phone advice or how to find a legal adviser or mediator near you.

You cannot apply for legal aid on your own, because a legal adviser applies for it on your behalf. The GOV.UK-linked service for finding a legal aid adviser or family mediator searches by postcode. Those advisers ask about your problem and finances to work out whether you can get legal aid.

If you cannot get legal aid, GOV.UK points to free advice from the Law Centres Network, Citizens Advice and AdviceNow. Law Centres help people in poverty overcome legal problems, and the network lists all of them across the UK on one page.

Plain-English guides

Some questions come up before you ever contact a solicitor, so we publish short guides on them. The blog collects them all in one place. GOV.UK says you may need a legal adviser with specialist training in your problem area, for example a solicitor. However, it also says you might solve some problems without court, for example through a mediator.

• What does a solicitor do? explains the role in everyday terms, which helps you decide whether you need one at all.
• Solicitor hourly rates in London covers costs, so you know what to ask before you agree to anything.
• Free legal advice and legal aid in London looks at what help may be available if money is tight.
• How to complain about a solicitor sets out what to do if something goes wrong.

Because every situation differs, treat these guides as a way to prepare good questions, not as a substitute for advice. Note down what happened, keep your documents together and write out the outcome you want. That preparation will save you time whichever route you take.