What does a quiet borough need solicitors for? More than it thinks. Sutton has no Tube, few tall buildings outside the town centre and one of the lowest crime rates in London, and most residents chose it for those reasons, along with the grammar schools and the trains to Victoria and London Bridge. But quiet places still buy and sell houses, divorce, grow old, run businesses and lose jobs, and two big hospitals employ thousands of people with contracts of their own.
The borough at the edge of London
Sutton runs from the Wandle valley at Hackbridge and Beddington, where the energy-from-waste plant burns the rubbish of four boroughs, up over the chalk to Belmont and the downs. In between are the suburbs people mean when they say Sutton: Cheam and its village, Carshalton and its ponds, Wallington, Worcester Park and the 1930s cottages of the St Helier estate, one of the largest council estates of its era. The town centre has the High Street and a growing number of new flats, BedZED at Hackbridge is often described as the country's first large eco-village, and the council has been run by the same party for longer than almost any in London.
Hospitals, schools and an older population
The Royal Marsden's Sutton site, with the Institute of Cancer Research beside it, is the borough's most famous institution and the heart of the London Cancer Hub growing around it. St Helier Hospital in Carshalton has been the subject of years of argument about whether it should be rebuilt, replaced or run down. With the schools and the council, the public sector is the biggest employer, which shapes the employment work. The age profile is older than inner London's, which shapes everything else: wills, lasting powers of attorney, probate, care-fee planning and the sale of family homes fill many practices, while families chasing school places keep conveyancers busy.
Courts: mostly in Croydon
Sutton has no Crown Court or county court of its own. Criminal cases go to the magistrates at Croydon or Wimbledon and, if serious, to Croydon Crown Court; county court and family matters are generally dealt with in Croydon too, and tribunal claims from Sutton workplaces are heard by the London South tribunal there.
Fees and legal aid
Wills, powers of attorney, conveyancing and uncontested divorces are usually fixed-fee; contested matters are charged hourly with an estimate per stage. Legal aid remains for crime, for family cases involving abuse or care proceedings and for some housing problems, and home insurance may include legal expenses cover, so read whether you can get legal help for free first. Firms listed here are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and featured firms have passed the site's verification of contact details, SRA record and public reviews.
Using this page
The sections below take each area of law from a Sutton point of view, with the firms that offer it listed under each, verified first. The Sutton search finds solicitors near a specific address, from Worcester Park to Belmont, and the Surrey search reaches over the boundary into Epsom and Banstead. Neighbouring boroughs are covered by Best Solicitors in Croydon and Best Solicitors in Merton, Best Solicitors in London covers the whole capital, and the legal insights section explains the basics.
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