The Best Solicitors in London

Updated 18 firms evaluated10 listed Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority

London has more solicitors than the rest of England combined, and most of the famous names will not act for a person buying a flat or ending a marriage. This list ignores the firms that only work for institutions and ranks the ones a Londoner can actually instruct, on the five checks we run on every firm. 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

  1. 01 Best overall
  2. 02 Best for family law
  3. 03 Best for conveyancing
  4. 04 Best for commercial
  5. 05+The rest of the shortlist, ranked on the same five checks

Penningtons Manches Cooper

Best overall

Top tier for divorce and finances, and ranked for company deals as well.

Updated
Why they are on this list
  • Ranked in the Legal 500's top tier for divorce and financial remedy work in London, and Tier 2 for company sales and purchases between £10 million and £100 million
  • The Legal 500 describes its lawyers as having a rare blend of technical excellence, commercial acumen and emotional intelligence
  • London head office at 125 Wood Street in the City, with UK offices in Oxford, Reading, Basingstoke, Guildford and Cambridge
  • International offices in Paris, Madrid, Piraeus and Antibes, with the Madrid practice now its largest overseas
  • Covers both sides of most people's legal life, the family and the business, which few firms in either table manage
  • SRA regulated under number 419867, published on the site
Family · Corporate · Real estate · Shipping£££ City of London SRA 419867
Visit website 020 7457 3000

Family Law in Partnership

Best for family law

Family law only, at Savoy Hill, with fees published and therapists in-house.

Updated
Why they are on this list
  • Ranked in the Legal 500's top tier for divorce and financial remedy work in London
  • The Chambers High Net Worth 2025 guide says of the firm, "They lead, others follow"
  • Ranked by The Times as one of the Best Law Firms every year since that guide began in 2019, and named Divorce Lawyers of the Year for London at the 2020 Global Business Awards
  • Won Excellence in Learning and Development at the Law Society Excellence Awards 2018
  • Publishes an our fees page, and offers mediation and therapeutic support alongside the legal work
  • Based at Savoy Hill House, off the Strand
Divorce · Financial settlements · Children · Mediation£££ Covent Garden
Visit website 020 7420 5000

Hunters Law

Best for conveyancing

Practising since the 1700s, CQS accredited, from New Square in Lincoln's Inn.

Updated
Why they are on this list
  • Accredited under the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme, and its residential property team was named one to watch by the Legal 500 in 2024
  • Founded by the attorney Ambrose Newton in the City of London, and at New Square in Lincoln's Inn since 1799, which the firm counts as over 300 years of practice
  • Ranked Tier 2 by the Legal 500 for divorce and financial remedy work in London, and recognised again in the Chambers High Net Worth guide 2026
  • Shortlisted for two awards at the LexisNexis Family Law Awards 2026
  • Handles commercial property and private client work from the same building, so a move that involves a trust or a business stays in one firm
  • Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority
Conveyancing · Family · Private client · Commercial property£££ Lincoln's Inn
Visit website 020 7412 0050

Fladgate

Best for commercial

Top tier for deals between £10 million and £100 million, after 250 years.

Updated
Why they are on this list
  • Ranked in the Legal 500's top tier for company sales and purchases between £10 million and £100 million, the table that matters for a business owner rather than a bank
  • Also ranked Tier 2 for divorce and financial remedy work in London
  • Practising for 250 years, from 16 Great Queen Street in Covent Garden
  • Technology and outsourcing team led by a partner with over 30 years advising financial services, healthcare and manufacturing clients
  • Handles shareholder and partnership disputes as well as the deals, which is the other half of owning a company
  • Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority
Corporate · Commercial · Technology · Family£££ Covent Garden
Visit website 020 3036 7000

Kingsley Napley

Bonhill Street firm that prints its immigration and family fee ranges.

Updated
  • Ranked in the Legal 500's top tier for divorce and financial remedy work in London
  • Publishes a pricing page with real ranges, such as £3,675 to £7,000 plus VAT for an indefinite leave to remain application
  • Known for criminal defence, regulatory and public law work alongside the family and immigration practices, so it takes cases most commercial firms will not
  • Based at 20 Bonhill Street, six minutes' walk from Old Street and close to Moorgate
  • SRA regulated under number 500046, published on the site
Family · Immigration · Criminal defence · Regulatory£££ Shoreditch SRA 500046
Visit website 020 7814 1200

Lewis Silkin

Blackfriars firm in the top tier for mid-market company deals.

Updated
  • Ranked in the Legal 500's top tier for company sales and purchases between £10 million and £100 million
  • Best known for employment and for advising creative, technology and media businesses
  • Publishes detailed guidance on data protection, artificial intelligence governance and online safety regulation, which is where its commercial work sits
  • London office at Arbor, 255 Blackfriars Road, with offices in Cardiff, Leeds, Manchester, Belfast, Dublin and Hong Kong
  • A business firm, so it will not take a house move or a divorce
  • Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority
Employment · Corporate · Intellectual property · Data protection£££ Southwark
Visit website 020 7074 8000
Ranks 07 to 10

Anthony Gold Solicitors

London Bridge firm with a Legal 500 Hall of Fame housing litigator.

Website

Hodge Jones & Allen

Euston firm built on access to justice, with 20 awards in three years.

Website

Bishop & Sewell

Holborn firm since 1979, with advanced family accreditation and a fees page.

Website

Bindmans

Founded in 1974 to protect Londoners' rights, on Gray's Inn Road.

Website

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Compare at a glance

FirmBest forSpecialismsPriceRatingArea
01Penningtons Manches CooperA London family and the business behind itFamily · Corporate · Real estate · Shipping£££Not verifiedCity of London
02Family Law in PartnershipDivorce and finances without a court fightDivorce · Financial settlements · Children · Mediation£££Not verifiedCovent Garden
03Hunters LawBuying and selling in central LondonConveyancing · Family · Private client · Commercial property£££Not verifiedLincoln's Inn
04FladgateSelling a business or raising investmentCorporate · Commercial · Technology · Family£££Not verifiedCovent Garden
05Kingsley NapleyFamily, immigration and cases with a criminal or regulatory edgeFamily · Immigration · Criminal defence · Regulatory£££Not verifiedShoreditch
06Lewis SilkinEmployers and creative businessesEmployment · Corporate · Intellectual property · Data protection£££Not verifiedSouthwark
07Anthony Gold SolicitorsHousing, injury and family cases for individualsHousing · Personal injury · Family · Wills and probate££Not verifiedLondon Bridge
08Hodge Jones & AllenCriminal defence, civil liberties and injury claimsCriminal defence · Civil liberties · Personal injury · Family££Not verifiedEuston
09Bishop & SewellFamily and property work for London residentsFamily · Conveyancing · Commercial property · Wills and probate££Not verifiedHolborn
10BindmansPublic law, police complaints and family workPublic law · Civil liberties · Family · Employment££Not verifiedBloomsbury

Before you instruct a firm in London

Check the register first. Every firm here appears on the Solicitors Regulation Authority register, and the number is on the card where the firm publishes it. Check it again yourself before you sign anything, because firms merge, rename and occasionally lose their authorisation between our quarterly re-checks.

Ask what the firm is built for. London firms specialise harder than firms anywhere else. Two of these ten act for businesses only, three are family or private client practices, and the rest cover both. A firm that is excellent at your neighbour’s problem may not take yours.

Get the estimate in writing. Five firms here publish price information, which is more than most London firms do. Hourly rates in the City run well above the national average, so ask for the estimate in writing, and ask which grade of lawyer will do the work.

The commercial firms sit in the City and on its edges, on Wood Street, Queen Victoria Street, Bonhill Street and Blackfriars Road. The family and private client firms are clustered around the courts in Holborn, Lincoln’s Inn, Gray’s Inn Road and the Strand, which is where the Central Family Court and the Royal Courts of Justice are. The firms that act for individuals against institutions, in housing, injury and civil liberties, sit slightly further out at Euston, London Bridge and Stratford.

Frequently asked
Why are the magic circle firms not on this list?

Because they will not act for you. Firms like those in the Legal 500's largest deal tables work for banks, funds and listed companies, and their smallest matters start above most people's budgets. This list uses the Legal 500's table for deals between £10 million and £100 million, and its divorce table, which is where a London business owner or family actually sits.

How do I check a London solicitor is regulated?

Look the firm up on the Solicitors Regulation Authority register. Every firm on this list was checked there before it was listed, and where a firm publishes its SRA number we show it on the card.

Why is a family law firm ranked above Fladgate?

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. Family Law in Partnership at rank two is the best place in London to take a divorce, not a claim that it beats Fladgate at company work.

How much do solicitors in London charge?

More than anywhere else in the country, and it varies by several hundred pounds an hour between the firms on this list. Kingsley Napley, Anthony Gold, Bishop & Sewell, Bindmans and Family Law in Partnership all publish price information. Ask for the estimate in writing before you instruct, and ask what happens if the matter takes longer than the estimate assumes.

Does it matter which part of London my solicitor is in?

Less than people think. Conveyancing and paperwork-led work runs by email wherever the firm sits. What matters is the court. Family cases usually go to the Central Family Court on High Holborn or your local family court, so a firm that appears there regularly is worth more than one on your street.

Other cities

The Best Solicitors in Birmingham The Best Solicitors in Manchester The Best Solicitors in Glasgow The Best Solicitors in Leeds The Best Solicitors in Liverpool The Best Solicitors in Edinburgh
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