Bromley is the largest of London's boroughs by a distance, and a large part of it is countryside: the green belt begins a couple of miles south of Bromley town centre and runs through Keston, Downe, Cudham and Biggin Hill to the Kent border. The rest is suburb, built mostly between the wars, where semis and detached houses fill Petts Wood, West Wickham, Hayes and Orpington, Victorian terraces climb towards Crystal Palace in Penge and Anerley, and Chislehurst and Bickley keep the large villas that made this corner of Kent fashionable a century ago. It was Kent until 1965, and much of it still thinks of itself that way.
What the borough needs
Property law leads: freehold conveyancing in chains that run into Kent and Sussex, extensions and planning in conservation areas and on the edge of the green belt, boundary and hedge disputes in a borough of long gardens, retirement flats and equity release, and the new apartment blocks around Bromley South. Wills, lasting powers of attorney and probate follow, because Bromley has one of the older populations in London and some of its larger estates. Family work runs from divorces after long marriages to arrangements for children and school disputes.
Where people work
Bromley South to Victoria is a short enough journey to make the borough a commuter's choice, and employment solicitors here deal largely with redundancies, settlement agreements and restrictive covenants from employers in central London. Locally, the Princess Royal University Hospital at Farnborough, the council, the shops of The Glades, the aviation and engineering businesses around Biggin Hill Airport and the industrial estates of the Cray Valley provide the rest, together with thousands of self-employed trades and professionals.
Courts
Bromley is better served than most outer boroughs. Bromley Magistrates' Court hears summary cases from a wide stretch of south-east London, serious crime goes to the Crown Court at Croydon or Woolwich, and the county and family court in Bromley deals with civil claims, divorce finances and children cases close to home. Employment claims are heard at the London South tribunal in Croydon.
Paying for a solicitor
Bromley's firms range from long-established practices in the town centre and Orpington to sole practitioners in Beckenham and Chislehurst. Most will quote a fixed price for conveyancing, a will, a power of attorney or an uncontested divorce, and an hourly rate with a capped estimate for anything contested. Criminal defence is still largely funded by legal aid, as are family cases where there has been domestic abuse or where the council has started care proceedings, and the guide to free legal help explains who qualifies. Every firm on this site is SRA-regulated; the featured ones have also been through the site's verification of their contact details, regulatory record and online reviews.
Finding the right page
The eight sector pages for Bromley follow below, each with its own guide and list of firms. For a solicitor close to a particular address, from Penge to Biggin Hill, use the Bromley search; for the neighbouring boroughs see Best Solicitors in Bexley and Best Solicitors in Lewisham; for the whole capital, Best Solicitors in London and the index of boroughs. Ten minutes with the legal insights guides first is time well spent.
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