Determine fair compensation for experienced, non-qualified legal professionals in the UK — factoring in practice area, experience, location, and the cost-saving benefits of direct engagement.
Simple Process
From question to negotiation-ready document in under 5 minutes.
Select your practice area, experience level, and location using the calculator controls.
A one-time secure payment via Stripe unlocks your personalised rate breakdown.
Receive hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and annual figures with a full methodology explanation.
Download your PDF rate card and use it as a discussion document with the other party.
Sound Familiar?
Have you ever found yourself trying to help a loved one and become embroiled in a long and time-consuming workload that was either not compensated at all, or compensated at a minimal rate? Meanwhile, the beneficiary of your time and skill saved a fortune in legal costs.
You spent months organising documents, attending hearings, and navigating acrimonious negotiations — all while holding down your own life. Your relative's legal bill was slashed. Yours? Unacknowledged.
Sorting an estate is a full-time job. Chasing executors, liaising with solicitors, deciphering legal language — you did it all. The estate benefited enormously. Your contribution went unpriced.
A commercial case dragged on for years. You were the one who understood the detail, built the chronology, and kept the strategy on track. The outcome was favourable. The recognition was not.
Our Solution
No one wants hidden surprises — or the quiet resentment that builds when your efforts do not feel properly appreciated. This tool gives you a well-reasoned compensation suggestion and a discussion document you can use to open the conversation clearly, calmly, and with confidence — at the very beginning of the relationship.
A personalised fair rate — hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and annual
The reasoning behind why that rate is fair, grounded in UK market data
A ready-to-use discussion document for fee negotiation
Benchmarks against qualified solicitors and legal executives
Upgrade Your Package
Our core calculator gives you the rate. Our upgrade services give you everything you need to operate professionally and protect yourself from the very beginning.
Rate Calculation + Timekeeping Pack
Includes your personalised rate calculation plus a complete timekeeping framework and professional invoice templates. Record your time accurately, bill with confidence, and maintain contemporaneous records — essential if your arrangement is ever questioned.
Rate + Timekeeping + Freelancer Contract
Everything in the Timekeeping & Invoicing package, plus a suggested informal contract of engagement as a freelancer. Sets out the agreed rate, scope of work, payment terms, and mutual expectations — accessible, non-intimidating, and designed to protect both parties without requiring a solicitor.
What People Say
Thousands of people across the UK find themselves providing skilled, unpaid — or underpaid — legal support to family and friends every year.
“I spent eight months helping my mother through a contested probate case. I gave up weekends, evenings, and annual leave. When it was over, I realised I had never once discussed payment — and felt too awkward to raise it. I wish I had found this tool at the start.”
Sarah T.
Supported a complex probate matter
West Yorkshire
“My brother's acrimonious divorce consumed two years of my life. I organised documents, attended mediation, and drafted correspondence. His solicitor's bill was over £40,000. I received nothing. A fair rate conversation at the outset would have changed everything.”
James M.
Assisted in a high-conflict divorce
Greater Manchester
“As a retired business professional, I helped a close friend navigate a commercial dispute. I had the skills — the research, the drafting, the strategy. But I had no framework to say: this is what my time is worth. This calculator gave me exactly that.”
Patricia H.
Supported a commercial litigation matter
Surrey
£40,000+
Average contested probate legal bill
£25,000+
Average acrimonious divorce legal cost
1 in 3
UK adults who have helped a family member with a legal matter
£0
Compensation received by most informal legal helpers
Configure your parameters below, then pay to reveal your personalised rate.
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Hourly Rate
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Day Rate
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Weekly
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Monthly
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A one-time payment of £4.99 unlocks your personalised rate breakdown — hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and annual figures.
Secure payment via Stripe
Methodology
This calculator is grounded in the well-established Rule of Thirds — the foundational principle of UK law firm economics. When a firm bills a client for a fee earner's work, that revenue is divided into three roughly equal parts: one-third to the fee earner's salary, one-third to firm overheads, and one-third to partner profit.
⅓ Salary
Direct compensation to the fee earner doing the work.
⅓ Overheads
Rent, insurance, technology, non-billable staff, and other firm running costs (~£44,000 per fee earner annually).
⅓ Profit
Partner distributions and return on equity for the firm's owners.
When a client engages a freelance professional directly, they bypass the overhead and profit thirds. This calculator argues that a fair portion of those savings should flow back to the professional — reflected in their rate. The Profit Share Uplift slider allows you to adjust what share of the firm's profit margin you capture, while the Freelancer Overheads slider accounts for your own running costs.
Benchmarks
The following table summarises the key market benchmarks used in this calculator, drawn from publicly available data from legal recruitment agencies, salary surveys, and regulatory sources.
| Role / Category | Practice Area | Annual (UK-wide) | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Paralegal (Salaried) | General | £30,000–£45,000 | £15–£23 |
| Paralegal (Salaried) | Family Law | £25,000–£32,000 | £13–£16 |
| Paralegal (Salaried) | Company / Commercial | £40,000+ | £21+ |
| Freelance Solicitor (Locum) | Family Law | — | £32–£40 |
| Freelance Solicitor (Locum) | Commercial Litigation | — | £35–£75 |
| Freelance Solicitor (Locum) | Wills & Probate | — | £40–£55 |
| McKenzie Friend (Experienced) | Family Court | — | £45–£90 |
| Guideline Rate — Grade C (2026) | National Band 1 | — | £201 |
| Guideline Rate — Grade D (2026) | National Band 1 | — | £142 |
Common Questions
Answers to the questions we hear most often from people in exactly your situation.