The Government has released updated guideline figures for the hourly rates for Solicitors, legal executives, paralegals and fee earners.

This update came into effect on 1 January 2025 and will thereafter be uplifted for inflation, in accordance with the Services Producer Price Index.

The Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos, accepted these changes and announced the increase. This means that the hourly rates have increased in line with the Services Producer Price Index (SPPI) (inflation).

These guideline figures, listed by geographical band and grade for different parts of the country, are to be used for a summary assessment of legal representatives' costs.

There is an analysis of the percentage increase per grade/band presented in the below table.

Grade	Fee earner	London 1	London 2	London 3	National 1	National 2
A	Solicitors and legal executives with over 8 years’ experience	£566	£413	£312	£288	£282
Previous rates:		£546	£398	£301	£278	£272
% increase		3.66%	3.77%	3.65%	3.60%	3.68%
B	Solicitors and legal executives with over 4 years’ experience	£385	£319	£256	£242	£242
Previous rates:		£371	£308	£247	£233	£233
% increase		3.77%	3.57%	3.64%	3.86%	3.86%
C	Other solicitors or legal executives and fee earners of equivalent experience	£299	£269	£204	£197	£196
Previous rates:		£288	£260	£197	£190	£189
% increase		3.82%	3.46%	3.55%	3.68%	3.70%
D	Trainee solicitors, paralegals and other fee earners	£205	£153	£143	£139	£139
Previous rates:		£198	£148	£138	£134	£134
% increase		3.54%	3.38%	3.62%	3.73%	3.73%

 

There appears to be a mean increase of 3.63% across the rates, with the largest increase being for Grade B fee earners in Band National 1, who enjoyed an increase of 3.86%. The lowest increase was seen by Grade D fee earners in both London 2.

For reference, the Bank of England base fell from 5.25% in January 2024 to 4.75% in January 2025. The present rate is 4.5%.

These guidelines will be vital to those involved in drafting cost schedules, as Judges regularly consider them when making assessments.

The guideline rates and description of the bands can be found at:

Solicitors' guideline hourly rates - GOV.UK

UK interest rate statistics - Bank Rate history and data | Bank of England Database