Editorial policy
How guides are researched
When you read a guide about legal costs or rules, you want to know where the facts came from. This editorial policy explains how we work, so you can judge how far to rely on a page. Every number, price range, date, court name, address and statutory fact comes from a page that was read on the day. As a result, a figure on the site traces back to a real source and not to memory or guesswork.
The guides answer common questions in plain English. Each one starts with the answer, so you do not have to hunt for it. Each also ends by pointing you to how to check that a solicitor is regulated, because that check matters before you instruct anyone. Our check-a-solicitor page covers that step in full. Pages for hubs and guides also list their sources, so you can read the originals yourself.
Which sources we use
We draw on sources of a few general kinds. These include government pages, regulators and legislation. We choose them because they are the places where rules and official figures are published.
Law firms’ own pages are never used as sources. For example, a firm’s own price page may look helpful, but using it would mean naming that firm. No law firm is named anywhere on London Solicitors Guide, so we leave those pages out altogether. This also keeps the guides independent, since no firm can shape what a page says about costs.
If you want to know who runs the site, our about page explains it. However, for why the site lists no firms and how to find and check a solicitor yourself, see how we list firms.
How we treat prices
Prices cause the most confusion for readers, so we apply a firm rule. We publish a price range only when at least two independent publishers support it. One source alone is not enough, because a single figure may be out of date or unusual.
Official fees follow a different rule. Fees such as court fees and Home Office fees come from GOV.UK. GOV.UK is therefore the source for those fees, so they do not need two publishers.
Where only one source exists, we do not publish a range. Instead, we describe costs in general terms and tell you to ask for a written price. For that reason, you may see a guide that says costs vary and gives no figure. That wording is deliberate, and it is more honest than a number we cannot support. When you ask a firm for a written price, ask what it includes, so that you can compare like with like. Our guide to solicitor hourly rates in London looks at one topic where prices matter.
What we will not publish
We do not name any law firm on this site. We make no ranking claims, so no list puts one firm above another. This rule covers every guide and every page. Naming firms would therefore conflict with how we source our facts.
Personal injury claims are a separate case. London Solicitors Guide does not refer, match or sell personal injury claims. It lists no firms, and it has no claim checker. If a page appears to offer any of those things, please tell us, because it would be a mistake.
Our legal disclaimer sets out the limits of what the guides offer.
Corrections
If you spot an error, tell us. The only way to contact London Solicitors Guide is the contact form. It has four topics: a question about the site, suggest a correction, report a problem, and press or partnership.
When you report an error, say which page it is on and what you think is wrong. For example, quote the sentence and say where you found a different figure. That detail lets us check the point against its source. We have set no response time and no review schedule, so we make no promise on either.