About

At Girlings we place the highest value on client care and the quality of our service and as one of Kent’s leading law firms, we are here to make it easy for you to manage your legal affairs.

We have been successfully doing this for commercial, family and individual clients since 1881. We work with clients from across the UK and remain proud of our roots in Kent with offices in Ashford, Canterbury and Herne Bay. Our sister company, no-win no-fee specialist Girlings Personal Injury claims, is also based in Canterbury. In addition, Girlings Europe, our alliance with respected firms BBDR in France and Crivit & Persyn in Belgium, provides advice for clients with cross-border interests.

Making you feel welcome and at your ease is a cornerstone of our culture. Our legal advisers are experienced specialists in their field who listen to what you say and provide a solution tailored to your specific needs. You only pay for the advice you need and there are no hidden costs.

Our purpose as a law firm is built on positive values which include excellence, trust, mutual respect, and caring for the people we work for and with. We build strong relationships with our clients and have worked with many of them for a long time.

Lawyers are sometimes accused of being traditional, stuffy and too slow to adapt. At Girlings we embrace change and are quick to adapt to meet the needs of our clients.

Girlings Solicitors LLP is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under registration number 614527.

Our history

Our story starts in 1881 from humble beginnings with an office in Margate, set up by sole practitioner, Walter Hills. Girlings is now one of the oldest and largest law firms in Kent with its head office in Canterbury and other offices in Ashford and Herne Bay. The growth in the size of the Firm to one of the leading solicitors in Kent has been mainly by its own organic growth, however along the way a number of well-respected firms have also been acquired strategically.

It was not until 1944 that the Girlings' name first appeared over the door. Two generations of Girlings have since worked at the Firm with Tony Girling who retired in 2000 achieving national recognition as a former President of the Law Society, a High Court Costs Assessor, a founder member of the Supreme Court Costs Office Practitioners Group and an acknowledged authority on costs, funding and client care problems.

Transparency in price and service

The Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) Transparency Rules came into effect in December 2018. The rules require legal firms to publish the fees, associated costs and typical timescales for matters for certain service areas and details can be found on the following pages:

Personal Law

Residential Property - see Our fees and timescales
Probate- see Our fees
Employment Tribunals (claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal) - see Employment Tribunals - Fees & timescales

Business Law