What prices and information must children's law firms publish under the SRA Transparency Rules?

Under SRA Transparency Rules, firms offering children's law services are not strictly mandated to publish fixed prices for family matters. However, they must display their complaints procedure, SRA digital badge, and clear information regarding professional indemnity insurance. If providing services like summary motoring or probate, specific price transparency applies.

Does the SRA mandate price publishing for children's law?

Technically, the SRA Transparency Rules (specifically Rule 1.1) list specific practice areas where price publication is mandatory, such as residential conveyancing, probate, and certain employment tribunals. Children’s law—encompassing private law contact disputes, care proceedings, and adoption—is not currently on that mandatory list.

However, the SRA Principles still require firms to act in a way that upholds public trust. In practice, this means while you aren't forced to list a "Price List for Child Arrangement Orders," you must ensure your costs information is clear, not misleading, and provided to the client at the earliest opportunity.

What information is mandatory for all children's law firms?

Regardless of the practice area, the SRA Transparency Rules require every firm to publish:

• Complaints Procedure: You must publish details of your complaints handling procedure on your website. This must include information on how and when a complaint can be made to the Legal Ombudsman and the SRA.
• The SRA Digital Badge: This must be displayed prominently, typically in the footer of your website, to verify your regulated status.
• Regulatory Information: Your SRA number and the professional rules that apply to you.

How should firms handle Legal Aid and "Public Law" disclosures?

For firms specializing in Public Law (care proceedings), the transparency requirements shift toward eligibility. Since these cases often involve non-means, non-merits tested Legal Aid (for parents), the "price" is often zero for the client.

Transparency here is less about a fee schedule and more about:

• Clear statements on Legal Aid availability.
• Information on how the firm assesses eligibility for "Legal Help" or "Legal Product" in private law children matters.
• Disclosures regarding the statutory charge if applicable in financial/children crossover cases.

What cost details are expected in private law children matters?

Even though child arrangement disputes aren't subject to mandatory price publishing, the SRA's "Better Information" guidance encourages firms to be as transparent as possible. If you choose to publish prices for private law children matters, you should include:

• Hourly Rates: The rates for different levels of fee earners (e.g., Partners vs. Associates).
• Estimated Totals: A range of potential costs for typical stages, such as an initial application, a First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment (FHDRA), and a Final Hearing.
• Disbursements: Typical costs for expert reports (e.g., Independent Social Work reports or DNA testing) and court fees (e.g., £255 for a C100 application).
• VAT: All prices must clearly state whether VAT is included.

The risk of "Price-Leading" in safeguarding cases

In children's law, particularly where safeguarding or emergency Protection Orders are involved, price is rarely the client's primary driver—triage speed is. Firms often make the mistake of hiding their "contact us" button behind a wall of pricing text.

Transparency should support, not hinder, the intake of urgent instructions. The SRA requires that information be "prominent and easy to access." For a children’s law firm, this means ensuring that while your complaints and regulatory info are visible, they do not obscure the pathway for a client in crisis to reach a solicitor.

Illustrative Example: Transparency for a Private Law Children Matter

Consider a hypothetical firm, "City Children’s Law," based in Manchester (one of the 570 firms headquartered there according to SRA data). While they are not mandated to list prices, they choose to do so to improve lead quality.

Example Fee Structure (Illustrative Only):

• Initial Triage & Advice: £300 + VAT (Fixed Fee)
• Application for Child Arrangement Order (C100): £1,500 – £3,000 + VAT (Estimated)
• Hourly Rates: Partner (£350), Senior Associate (£250), Paralegal (£120).
• Mandatory Court Fee: £255 (Disbursement)

Total Estimated Range: For a case settling at the first hearing, the client might expect a total cost of £2,100 to £3,600 + VAT, including court fees.

By publishing this, the firm meets the "Better Information" spirit of the SRA and ensures that the enquiries they receive via their website are from clients who have been "pre-screened" for their price point, reducing administrative waste in the intake process.

Compliance is the baseline, but conversion is the goal. For children's law firms, transparency rules offer an opportunity to structure your enquiry capture more effectively.

IntelligenceIQ allows firms to pair their mandatory disclosures with high-performing intake forms. By tracking every enquiry from the moment a client views your pricing or complaints page, IntelligenceIQ shows you exactly which fee earners are following up on urgent care proceedings and which lead sources are providing the highest-quality private law instructions.

Don't just be compliant—be efficient. Use IntelligenceIQ to expose follow-up delays in your family department and gain full pipeline reporting across all your children's law matters.