Downs Solicitors & Notaires

What Downs Solicitors & Notaires does

Downs Solicitors & Notaires (legally Downs Solicitors LLP) is a private limited liability partnership founded in 1836 in Dorking, Surrey, providing comprehensive legal services across two principal client segments. For individuals, the firm offers family law, residential conveyancing, private client services (wills, probate, estate planning, powers of attorney, Court of Protection), employment law, dispute resolution, and Notary Public services. For businesses, services extend to commercial property, corporate and commercial transactions, employment law, corporate recovery and restructuring, and international services. The firm operates from four offices in Cobham, Dorking (headquarters, Grade II listed), Godalming, and Reigate, and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA number 446286).

The firm's underlying technology stack is minimal and conventional: it uses standard legal practice management software, and its website offers a conveyancing calculator (for residential transactions under £1 million) and an online payment portal supporting 3D Secure 2 authentication, alongside live chat (Moneypenny) and cookie consent (Cookiebot). There is no proprietary platform, no AI/ML components, and no API or developer-facing integrations. The firm holds Cyber Essentials certification and is recognised as a Legal 500 Leading Firm.

The business model is a traditional professional services revenue model: fees are generated through hourly rates, fixed fees for defined services (e.g., a fixed-fee divorce package), and transaction-based fees for conveyancing and corporate matters. The go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, relying on direct client consultations across four physical offices, professional referrals from accountants and financial advisors, and community engagement (EWIF, Reigate Business Guild). The firm's headcount is stated as 51-100, and its customer base spans individuals, sole traders, partnerships, and private/public companies with no disclosed anchor clients. Revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Downs Solicitors & Notaires

Legal name

Downs Solicitors LLP

Website

https://downslaw.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1836

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Downs Solicitors & Notaires is a Surrey-based, SRA-regulated limited liability partnership founded in 1836, operating four offices and providing comprehensive legal services for individuals and businesses across family law, property, employment, corporate, and private client practice areas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Notaries (541120), Offices of Notaries (54112), All Other Legal Services (541199), Title Abstract and Settlement Offices (541191)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Notary & Signing Agent Services (Remote/Onsite) (BPAJAOAF)

Keywords

• Legal services
• Family law
• Conveyancing services
• Employment law
• Notarial services

Headquarters

HQ city

Dorking

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Fees: Traditional law firm billing for professional legal services across multiple practice areas including family law, employment law, property law, dispute resolution, corporate/commercial law, and private client services. Revenue is generated through hourly rates, fixed fees for specific services (e.g., fixed fee divorce package), and transaction-based fees for conveyancing and business transactions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Downs Solicitors & Notaires is a traditional full-service law firm providing professional legal advice and representation to individuals and businesses across Surrey, UK. Core offerings include family law (divorce, child arrangements, financial settlements, prenuptial agreements), employment law, residential and commercial conveyancing, dispute resolution, corporate and commercial law, corporate recovery and restructuring, private client services (wills, probate, trusts, inheritance tax planning), notarial services for international document authentication, and international legal services for cross-border businesses.

Product overview

Downs Solicitors & Notaires is a traditional law firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of legal services for individuals and businesses in Surrey, UK. The firm operates four offices in Cobham, Dorking, Godalming, and Reigate. Their service offering is organized into two main categories: personal legal services (For You) covering Dispute Resolution, Employment, Family, Notarial Services, Private Client, and Residential Property & Conveyancing; and business legal services (For Your Business) covering Commercial Property, Corporate & Commercial, Corporate Recovery & Restructuring, Employment, Employlaw, and International Services. Additionally, the firm provides digital tools including a Conveyancing Calculator for estimating residential property legal fees and an Online Payment Portal for client transactions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Family Law Family legal services for individuals covering child and family law, financial settlements, domestic abuse, divorce and dissolution of civil partnerships, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and co-habitation agreements.
• Employment Law Employment legal services for individuals covering contracts, disciplinary action, employment tribunals, discrimination issues, family friendly rights, performance issues, grievances, redundancy, TUPE, and unfair dismissal.
• Dispute Resolution Legal services for resolving disputes including boundary disputes, debt recovery, insolvency, inheritance disputes, shareholder issues, property disputes, and professional negligence matters.
• Notarial Services Notary public services for authenticating and certifying documents for international use.
• Private Client Services Private client services including trusts and estate planning, wills, living wills and powers of attorney, inheritance tax planning, probate, letters of administration, court of protection matters, and elderly client services.
• Residential Property & Conveyancing Residential property legal services and conveyancing for buying, selling, and remortgaging properties.
• Commercial Property Commercial property legal services for businesses including highways and rights of way, environmental matters, easements, investment, landlord and tenant, planning and development, building regulations, development land, joint ventures, and property portfolio management.
• Corporate & Commercial Corporate and commercial legal services for businesses covering business formation, buying and selling businesses, advertising and marketing law, agency and distribution agreements, confidentiality agreements, e-commerce, internet/IT law, and intellectual property.
• Corporate Recovery & Restructuring Corporate recovery services for businesses including administration, receivership, CVA, liquidation, bankruptcy, solvent restructuring, debt restructuring, director's duties, and director disqualification.
• Business Employment Services Business employment legal services for employers including consultancy agreements, contracts of employment, data protection for employers, discrimination, disciplinary issues, employment tribunal representation, grievances, settlement agreements, staff handbooks, training, TUPE, and workplace mediation.
• International Services International legal services for businesses, including outward and inward international services for businesses operating across borders.
• Conveyancing Calculator Online calculator tool for estimating residential conveyancing fees for properties under £1 million, supporting buying, selling, and remortgaging transactions.
• Online Payment Portal Online payment portal for invoice payments and monies on account, supporting 3D Secure 2 (3DS2) authentication.

Quantifiable outcome

• 97% client satisfaction on value for money
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• MoneypennyminorOthersLive chat service provider for website visitor engagement. Moneypenny provides chat history, referring URL tracking, and returning visitor recognition for customer service purposes. The firm uses this to offer proactive chat invitations and maintain conversation continuity.
• Legal 500coreOthersRecognition as a Legal 500 Leading Firm, indicating tier 1 ranking in the legal directory for practice areas covered by the firm.
• Law SocietycoreOthersMembership and regulatory alignment with the Law Society of England and Wales, the professional body for solicitors.
• ReviewSolicitorsminorOthersIndependent verified client review platform displaying 4.9 rating from 249 reviews, demonstrating client satisfaction with services.
• Cyber EssentialsminorOthersCybersecurity certification demonstrating compliance with basic cyber security measures required for UK businesses handling sensitive data.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Barlow Robbins: Surrey-based full-service solicitors with offices in Guildford, Woking, and surrounding areas. Direct regional competitor with similar SME and private client focus, offering conveyancing, family, employment, and commercial services.
• Furley Page: Kent-based long-established full-service solicitors offering private client, family, commercial, employment, and property law. Comparable in regional full-service model and heritage-driven client acquisition.
• Morrisons Solicitors: Multi-office full-service UK law firm serving individuals and businesses with private client, family, employment, and commercial property offerings. Comparable practice mix and traditional partnership model.
• Brachers: Kent and South East full-service law firm with comparable offering across private client, family, dispute resolution, employment, and commercial property. Similar partnership structure and traditional regional model.
• Cripps: Surrey and South East-based full-service law firm with comparable service breadth including private client, family, corporate, real estate, and dispute resolution. Highly comparable in catchment, heritage, and target client segments.
• Thomson Snell & Passmore: Long-established full-service South East law firm with multiple Kent and London offices. Directly comparable as a regional multi-practice firm offering private client, family, commercial property, and dispute resolution services to individuals and SMEs.
• Prettys Solicitors: East Anglia-based full-service solicitors with comparable practice breadth including family, employment, dispute resolution, property, and corporate work for SMEs and individuals.

Broad incumbents

• Weightmans: National UK law firm with comparable practice areas (private client, employment, commercial, dispute resolution). Significantly larger scale and broader geographic reach than Downs.
• Lyons Davidson: Larger national full-service UK law firm with broader geographic footprint. Comparable in service mix (conveyancing, private client, dispute resolution, corporate) but operates at significantly greater scale.

Emerging players

• Co-op Legal Services: National, digitally-led legal services provider competing on price in commoditized areas including wills, probate, conveyancing, and family law. Comparable offering in routine matters, but with fundamentally different (digital, volume-driven) model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DownsSolicitors
• Facebookfacebook.com/Downslaw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/downs-solicitors-llp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Downs Solicitors & Notaires