Firms urged to improve pricing transparency to help consumers

Improving clarity on the likely costs of legal services can help to improve access to justice for consumers, however a Law Society review of law firm websites has revealed that less than a third included information about pricing.

A total of 109 out of the 381 legal firms across Scotland which were included in the review sample, had pricing information available on their website in line with Law Society Guidance.

Most larger practices with over 50 solicitors, at 87%, displayed pricing on their website to enable consumers to consider potential costs. However it was a mixed picture for smaller practices whose websites were reviewed, with the smallest firms least likely to display pricing. Just over 20% of sole practitioner firms and 30% of 2-5 solicitor firms displayed price information. Almost half of firms with 6-10 solicitors, at 47%, and over a third of firms with 11-50 solicitors, at 37%, had pricing information available online.

The Law Society’s Price Transparency Guidance states that firms should display prices for a range of legal services to help people make better-informed choices. It applies to firms which provide legal advice directly to consumers, and does not apply to those solely undertaking legal aid work or that provide legal services to businesses. The Guidance also allows firms to display their pricing on their premises, which was not covered by the survey.

David Gordon, lay convener of the Law Society of Scotland Regulatory Committee, said: “There has been progress since the Guidance was introduced in 2021 but it’s clear that there’s more to be done on making pricing information readily available to consumers.

“As well as increasing clarity for consumers, price transparency can help improve access to justice. People can be anxious about seeing a solicitor because they have no idea about costs, resulting in some being put off seeking professional legal advice altogether. Having a clearer picture not only helps demystify the cost of legal services, but can also encourage people to seek professional advice rather than leave situations unresolved which can have an even higher cost – both emotionally and financially - in the long term.

“While unforeseen complexities can arise, potentially leading to additional work and expense, having a better understanding of costs from the outset benefits both the consumer and solicitor working on their behalf.

“Many consumers search for information online, but even small firms without a website can have information on display in their office or which they can send to potential clients before meeting with a solicitor. While people undoubtedly refer to reviews and recommendations from friends and family, those firms that are not making this information available could well be losing out to those that do.

“We are promoting the Guidance and the reasons behind it as a reminder for solicitors to make pricing information available. We plan to carry out additional research on compliance following the campaign and if further analysis shows that compliance with the Guidance has not improved significantly, we will consider next steps including whether to implement new Practice Rules about price transparency.”

The Law Society’s Price Transparency Guidance allows for different options for publishing pricing including typical or average costs for cases or fixed fees for certain types of work such as the sale of a residential property, simple wills or for certain types of divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership. The Guidance is in addition to the long-established Practice Rules requiring solicitors to set out in writing the anticipated costs of a specific project upon receiving instructions.

The 381 practice units included in the review, which took place in late 2024, were selected by random sampling and represented 37% of the eligible sample of Scottish solicitor practices. 109 practice units had price information on their website, which represented 28.6% of practice units sampled across all practice unit sizes. This research did not cover the availability of pricing information on premises, which is also allowed under the guidance.

The research results are available. This research follows the Society’s public polling on price transparency published in June 2024 and the Price Transparency Report published by the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, also in June 2024.