Guides
Plain English guides to the rules that apply to law firm websites in England and Wales, and to what you can do when something goes wrong with a solicitor.
- The SRA digital badge: what it is and where it must appear
Why regulated firms show the clickable yellow badge, and how to tell a real one from a copied image. - SRA price transparency rules: which services need published prices
The services that require published price information, and what the price section must include. - Complaints information law firm websites must publish
What the SRA expects firms to say about complaints, the Legal Ombudsman and the eight week rule. - How to complain about a solicitor in England and Wales
The three step route: the firm first, then the Legal Ombudsman for service, or the SRA for conduct. - How to check a solicitor is legitimate
Five free checks that catch cloned firms and fake solicitors before any money moves. - Email says your solicitor's bank details changed? Stop and read this
The classic sign of payment diversion fraud: what to verify before you pay, and the exact first steps if money has already gone. - Solicitor not responding? What to do, step by step
How long to wait, how to escalate inside the firm, and when silence becomes a formal complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. - Solicitor's firm closed down? What an SRA intervention means for you
What happens to your case, your files and your money when the SRA closes a firm, who the intervention agents are, and what to do first. - No win no fee agreements: what to check before you sign
CFAs and DBAs explained: the legal caps on success fees and percentages, what a losing client can still pay, the 14 day cancellation right, and the checklist before signing. - How to challenge a solicitor's bill
The free route through the Legal Ombudsman, the court route under the Solicitors Act 1974, the strict time limits and the one-fifth rule. - How long can a solicitor hold your money? The rules and your options
What the SRA Accounts Rules say about returning client money promptly, typical payout timings after a sale or settlement, the interest rules, and what to do about delay. - Conveyancing taking too long? What is normal and what to do
Typical timescales for buying and selling, the usual causes of delay, the questions that get a straight answer, and when slowness becomes a complaint. - How to find out what a solicitor will charge
Solicitors must publish prices for common services, yet most websites do not show them. Where to look and what to ask. - Probate solicitor fees: what you will pay and what firms must publish
How probate is charged (fixed fee, hourly or percentage), the court fee, and the price information firms must publish for uncontested probate. - How much a motoring offence solicitor costs
Typical fixed fees for speeding, drink driving and other magistrates' court cases, what the fee should include, and the prices firms must publish. - Employment tribunal solicitor costs for unfair dismissal claims
What solicitors charge for unfair and wrongful dismissal claims, the prices firms must publish, and the time limit changes coming in October 2026. - Immigration solicitor fees: legal costs and the Home Office fees on top
Typical solicitor fees for visa and citizenship applications, the Home Office fees and health surcharge that come on top, and the prices firms must publish. - Debt recovery solicitor fees and the other business services with published prices
What solicitors charge to recover debts up to 100,000 pounds, plus licensing applications and tribunal defence: the three business services where firms must publish prices. - Conveyancing quotes: what a solicitor must tell you before you commit
What a conveyancing price must include by law, the costs that get left out of quotes, and how to compare firms. - SRA Transparency Rules fines and warning letters: what happens after a web sweep
How the SRA enforces the rules: proactive web sweeps, warning letters, the 750 pound fixed penalty, and the four steps that resolve a warning. - SRA Transparency Rules checklist for law firm websites
Every item the rules require on a firm's website, in one checklist you can work through today.