The Best Solicitors in Belfast

Updated Sept 202616 firms evaluated10 listed Regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland

Belfast's solicitors are regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland rather than the SRA, conveyance under the Society's Home Charter Scheme, and practise a family law that differs from England's in more ways than most people expect. We ranked these ten on the five checks we run on every firm, with the register and the fee checks adjusted for Northern Ireland. Rank one is the best overall, ranks two to four are the best for family law, conveyancing and commercial work, and the rest cleared the same checks. How we rank

01 Best overall
02 Best for family law
03 Best for conveyancing
04 Best for commercial
05+The rest of the shortlist, ranked on the same five checks

Why they are on this list

Ranked in the Legal 500's top tier for corporate and mergers and acquisitions work in Northern Ireland
States it is ranked number one across more areas of expertise than any other law firm in Northern Ireland in the Legal 500 and Chambers UK, and holds more top Chambers rankings than any other local firm
Private client team retained its Band 1 ranking in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2026
Established in 1852, with over 230 people and 46 partners across 29 specialist areas at Murray House in Belfast and a Dublin office opened in 2016
Finalist for Legal Firm of the Year at the British Business Awards 2026, and won at the Northern Ireland Dealmakers Awards 2026
Regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland

Why they are on this list

Family solicitors appointed to the Law Society's Children Order Panel, the Northern Ireland Guardian ad Litem Agency panel and the International Children Law Panel
Recognised by the Legal 500 and Chambers UK, and accredited under Lexcel and the Home Charter Scheme
Covers separation, divorce and child custody alongside less common work such as annulment and surrogacy, with published guides on each
Belfast office at Callender Buildings on Callender Street, with a second office in Newtownards
Runs a Belfast Marathon relay team and backs local clubs each year, which says something about how long it has been part of the city
Regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland

Why they are on this list

Residential property team advises first-time buyers, home movers and investors, and the firm won gold at the ESTA Awards 2024, which are judged on client reviews
Ranked in Chambers and Partners in 2025 and again in 2026, with new rankings added in the latest guide
Founded in 1948 by Bertie Wilson and Hubert Nesbitt, with a real estate and construction practice alongside the consumer work
Belfast office at 36 Alfred Street, with a second office in Bangor
Its real estate partner has been ranked in the Legal 500 in five separate years
Regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland

Why they are on this list

Ranked in the Legal 500's top tier for corporate and mergers and acquisitions work in Northern Ireland
Number one in the Experian deal and advisor table for Northern Ireland for ten years in a row, from 2015 to 2025
Won Corporate Law Firm of the Year at the Insider Media Northern Ireland Dealmakers Awards 2023 and was shortlisted again in 2024
Advised Invest Northern Ireland on the £30 million Techstart II seed fund and the £50 million Co-Fund II
Based at The Ewart on Bedford Square, and still offers residential conveyancing alongside the corporate work
Regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland

Ranked Tier 2 by the Legal 500 for corporate and mergers and acquisitions work in Northern Ireland
Advised on more than 100 transactions in 2025 with a record combined deal value of £1.7 billion
Won Corporate Law Firm of the Year in 2022 and 2024
Employment team led by a solicitor with over 20 years acting for employers, and a Chambers-listed up and coming lawyer in the disputes team
Based at 21 Arthur Street in the city centre
Regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland

Ranked Tier 3 by the Legal 500 for corporate and mergers and acquisitions work in Northern Ireland
Ranked Band 1 for both private wealth law and private wealth disputes in Northern Ireland by the Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2026
Established in 1893 and based at 50 Bedford Street, with an EcoVadis silver medal for 2026
Publishes a minimum fee of £250 plus VAT for its work, which is more than most firms print
Writes on prenuptial agreements in Northern Ireland, including a £26 million case, so the family work is current
Regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland

Ranks 07 to 10

Millar McCall Wylie

East Belfast firm since 1997 with a mediator running its family team.

Website

O'Reilly Stewart Solicitors

The only Band 1 healthcare team in Northern Ireland, on May Street.

Website

Francis Hanna & Co

A social justice practice since 1929, on May Street and the Lisburn Road.

Website

Madden & Finucane

Castle Street firm since 1979, Lexcel accredited, and on the Home Charter Scheme.

Website

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Compare at a glance

Rank	Firm	Best for	Specialisms	Price	Rating	Area
01	Carson McDowell	Businesses and families who want the biggest local firm	Corporate · Commercial · Private client · Healthcare	£££	Not verified	City centre
02	Worthingtons Solicitors	Children cases and contested divorce	Divorce · Children · Surrogacy · Conveyancing	Not published	Not verified	City centre
03	Wilson Nesbitt	Buying and selling a home in Belfast or North Down	Conveyancing · Real estate · Family · Wills	Not published	Not verified	City centre
04	Tughans	Selling a business or raising investment	Corporate · Finance · Real estate · Employment	£££	Not verified	City centre
05	Mills Selig	Owner-managed businesses doing deals	Corporate · Commercial · Employment · Construction	Not published	Not verified	City centre
06	Cleaver Fulton Rankin	Private wealth, trusts and inheritance disputes	Private wealth · Corporate · Commercial property · Planning	Not published	Not verified	City centre
07	Millar McCall Wylie	East Belfast families and businesses	Corporate · Family · Commercial disputes · Conveyancing	Not published	Not verified	City centre and East Belfast
08	O'Reilly Stewart Solicitors	Medical negligence and inquests	Clinical negligence · Dispute resolution · Family · Residential property	Not published	Not verified	City centre
09	Francis Hanna & Co	Divorce and children cases with a local office	Divorce · Children · Wills and estates · Personal injury	Not published	Not verified	City centre and Lisburn Road
10	Madden & Finucane	Human rights, criminal defence and injury claims	Human rights · Criminal defence · Personal injury · Conveyancing	Not published	Not verified	City centre

Before you instruct a firm in Belfast

Check the right register. Every firm here is regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland, which is why no card carries an SRA number. Check the firm on the Society’s directory yourself before you sign anything, because firms merge, rename and occasionally lose their authorisation between our quarterly re-checks.

Match the firm to the job. Belfast has four firms in the Legal 500’s top tier for corporate work, two of them the Belfast offices of Dublin-headquartered firms, A&L Goodbody and Arthur Cox, which we left off this list because a Belfast reader with a house move or a divorce has no use for them. The two on this list, Carson McDowell and Tughans, both also do private client work.

Get the estimate in writing. Published fees are rarer in Belfast than in England, and only two firms here print any figure. Everything is quoted after a first meeting, and an estimate given on the phone is not the same as one written into your terms of business.

The Belfast legal market

The commercial firms cluster around Bedford Street, Arthur Street and Murray Street within a few minutes’ walk of the Royal Courts of Justice on Chichester Street. The firms most people actually use for family and property work sit on May Street, Castle Street and Callender Street, and two of them keep second offices where their clients live, on the Lisburn Road and the Newtownards Road.

Frequently asked

How do I check a Belfast solicitor is regulated?

Solicitors in Northern Ireland are regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland, not the Solicitors Regulation Authority, so the SRA register will not show them. Use the Society's solicitor directory. Every firm on this list was checked there before it was listed.

Why is a family law firm ranked above Tughans?

Because ranks two to four are not a straight ranking. Rank one is the best firm overall. Ranks two, three and four are the best firm for family law, conveyancing and commercial work respectively. Worthingtons at rank two is the best place in Belfast to take a children case, not a claim that it beats Tughans at company work.

What is the Home Charter Scheme?

It is the Law Society of Northern Ireland's set of standards for residential conveyancing, which every solicitor doing that work must follow. It fixes what your solicitor must explain and when. Three firms on this list mention their membership on their sites.

How much do solicitors in Belfast charge?

It depends on the work and on who does it. Cleaver Fulton Rankin prints a minimum fee, and O'Reilly Stewart publishes some of its outlays, but published price lists are rarer in Belfast than in English cities. Ask for the estimate in writing before you instruct, and ask whether it includes outlays such as searches and registration.

Is divorce different in Northern Ireland?

Yes. Northern Ireland has its own divorce law and its own courts, and the grounds and procedure differ from England and Wales. Use a solicitor who practises here, and expect to be asked for the facts relied on rather than a simple statement that the marriage has broken down.

Corrections and suggestions

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The Best Solicitors in Belfast

Carson McDowell

Worthingtons Solicitors

Wilson Nesbitt

Tughans

Mills Selig

Cleaver Fulton Rankin

Millar McCall Wylie

O'Reilly Stewart Solicitors

Francis Hanna & Co

Madden & Finucane

Compare at a glance

Before you instruct a firm in Belfast

The Belfast legal market

Other cities

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