07 January 2026
Solicitors received a new year’s boost this month with the announcement of an uplift to the guideline hourly rates
The rise, effective this month, gives a top rate of £579 (up from £566) to solicitors and legal executives with more than eight years’ experience in central London or £288 (up from £282) in national band 2 areas.
The rates—guideline figures used by judges to calculate court costs—have increased for the third year in a row.
Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls, said: ‘The uplift from the 2025 rates to the new 2026 rates amounts to an increase of 2.28%.’
