Solicitors · est. 1962
Hartwell & Vance advises families and owner-managed businesses across the South West — plainly spoken, carefully drafted, and honest about cost from the first meeting.
We keep the firm deliberately small: eleven solicitors, no leverage pyramid, and a partner's name on every matter. Most new clients arrive the old way — sent by someone we already act for.
Residential and commercial, with completions that happen on the day we said they would.
Estates handled with patience and precision, at a fixed fee agreed before we begin.
Shareholder agreements to settlement negotiations — commercial advice that weighs the litigation before recommending it.
“The best legal advice we ever received was to not litigate. They billed us for one letter instead of one year.”
Thirty minutes without charge — the matter, the options, and an honest view on whether you need us at all.
Fixed where fixable, estimated in ranges where not, and never exceeded silently.
One partner responsible throughout. Updates arrive before you think to ask.
A closing letter in plain English: what was done, what it means, and what to file where.
Conveyancing and probate are fixed-fee, quoted before we start. Advisory work is billed in six-minute units at rates set out in the engagement letter — with a cap you agree first.
Yes. Assistants assist; they don't substitute. The name on your engagement letter is the person who answers your calls.
Urgent matters are seen within the day. Everything else within the week — a promise the diary is built around.
The first thirty minutes are without charge and without obligation.