Solicitors in Bromley, London
Finding a solicitor in Bromley
If you need legal help, the hard part is often knowing where to look. This page is a guide to finding and checking a solicitor in Bromley, London. When you search for solicitors Bromley residents can use, official sources are the safest place to start.
Three routes are worth knowing about.
- The SRA Solicitors Register lets you look up the records of the solicitors and law firms the SRA regulates. You can check whether somebody is a solicitor and where they work.
- The Law Society Find a Solicitor service searches its database of legal professionals. You can search by organisation or person, name or SRA ID, location, area of practice and legal issue.
- The “Find a legal aid adviser or family mediator” service finds legal aid advisers in England and Wales by postcode. They ask about your problem and finances to work out if you can get legal aid.
However, none of these depends on the borough you choose, so use them as starting points. The SRA’s ‘Choosing a solicitor’ page also tells consumers to check the Solicitors Register.
Courts and tribunals for Bromley
Some legal problems end up in court, so it helps to know which courts are in the borough. Bromley County Court and Family Court, at Court House, College Road, Bromley BR1 3PX, handles divorce hearings, childcare arrangements on separation, adoption, domestic abuse, housing and money claims.
Bromley Magistrates’ Court, at The Court House, 1 London Road, Bromley BR1 1RA, handles crime. Because the two courts deal with different matters, a case may not run where you expect. GOV.UK’s Find a Court or Tribunal service gives addresses, opening times, contact details and case types. Use the service to see which court handles your case before you set off.
Free and low-cost legal help in Bromley
Citizens Advice Bromley says it provides free, confidential and impartial advice, and it is an independent charity in the Citizens Advice network. The London Borough of Bromley also publishes an “Advice and benefits” page and a “Housing” page on its official website. For example, the housing page may suit you if your problem is about a home, although it is the council’s own page and not legal advice.
If you cannot get legal aid, GOV.UK points to free advice from the Law Centres Network, Citizens Advice and AdviceNow. The Law Centres Network says Law Centres help people in poverty overcome legal problems, and it lists all Law Centres across the UK on one page.
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. Since a legal adviser applies for legal aid for you, you cannot apply on your own. Our guide to free legal advice and legal aid in London explains these routes in more detail.
Common reasons to look for a solicitor
People look for a solicitor for many kinds of task, so the list below shows the main areas, each with its own page.
- Family law covers matters such as divorce and arrangements for children.
- Conveyancing is the legal work involved in buying or selling a home.
- Wills and probate covers making a will and dealing with an estate.
- Employment law covers problems at work, such as a dismissal.
- Immigration covers applications about the right to stay in the UK.
- Criminal defence is for people who face a criminal charge.
- Dispute resolution covers disagreements over money or contracts.
- Personal injury covers claims after an accident or injury.
Checking that a solicitor is regulated
Legal Choices says the SRA keeps watch over all solicitors in England and Wales and the firms they work for. It also says the SRA takes action when solicitors fall below the required standards or act dishonestly. In other words, regulation means someone is checking that standards are met.
The SRA describes its register as the definitive impartial source of information about the law firms and people it regulates. As a result, the register is the right place to confirm a firm before you instruct it. Our check-a-solicitor page shows you how to do this.
Questions to ask before you instruct a solicitor
Before you agree to instruct a solicitor, put a few plain questions to the firm, because the answers help you judge the job.
- What will the fees be, and what do they include?
- Who will do the work, and how will you be kept informed?
- How is the firm regulated, and can you find it on the Solicitors Register?
Write down the answers, since a written note is easy to check against any later bill. For example, if a fee seems unclear, ask the firm to explain which parts of the work it covers before you go ahead.