Are Solicitors more Affordable than People Think?

Oct 23, 2020
Author: Simon Bladen
Simon is one of the firm's Audit Partners. Simon is responsible for looking after the firm’s legal, charitable and not-for-profit clients.
Solicitors affordable

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has recently conducted a survey of 3,539 users of legal services. The survey found that only 10% of consumers believed that solicitors were an unaffordable option once they had accessed information on price. This figure was 50% when the information on price was less clear prior to the transparency rules.

 

What are the transparency regulations?

The transparency regulations came into force in December 2018. This required firms to publish prices on their website for certain services, these include:

  • Conveyancing
  • Probate
  • Motoring offenses
  • Immigration
  • Employment tribunals
  • Debt recovery
  • Licensing applications

 

The SRA maintains that the reason they brought in this rule was so consumers were better informed about how much legal services actually cost and not to decrease prices.

However, 83% of consumers said their final decision when choosing legal services is based on reputation, experience, or recommendations. Most consumers have direct contact with potential solicitors before making a decision. Furthermore, the SRA found that 75% of consumers surveyed said that having access to the mandated information helped them make a more informed choice. 

 

How can we help?

At Hawsons we have a dedicated team of legal accountants at our offices in Sheffield, Doncaster, and Northampton. Hawsons are one of a few accountancy practices with a dedicated team of solicitor accountants specialising exclusively in the needs of solicitors and legal professionals.

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Simon Bladen

Partner

slb@hawsons.co.uk