The regulation of solicitors’ billing in property conveyancing represents a critical intersection between professional ethics, consumer protection, access to justice, and the efficient functioning of property markets. Conveyancing transactions involve the transfer, creation, or extinguishment of proprietary interests in land and typically require specialised legal services, including title investigation, due diligence, drafting of conveyancing instruments, registration of interests, and compliance with statutory requirements. Consequently, the fees charged by solicitors constitute a significant component of the overall cost of property transactions and have direct implications for the accessibility and quality of legal representation. Despite the importance of legal remuneration in conveyancing practice, jurisdictions continue to adopt divergent approaches to the regulation of solicitors’ fees, reflecting differing conceptions of the legal profession, market competition, and consumer welfare.

This article undertakes a comparative legal analysis of the frameworks governing solicitors’ billing in property conveyancing in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, and Ghana. Adopting a comparative doctrinal research methodology, the study examines statutory provisions, professional conduct rules, remuneration regulations, regulatory policies, and judicial decisions relating to legal fees in conveyancing transactions. The article is anchored on Professional Regulation Theory and Economic Theory of Legal Services Markets, which provide competing perspectives on the appropriate balance between professional oversight and market-based pricing.

The study finds that Nigeria adopts a relatively interventionist approach through the Legal Practitioners Remuneration Order 2023, which prescribes minimum fees for certain legal services, including conveyancing transactions. In contrast, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, and Ghana generally favour market-oriented systems in which fees are determined through contractual arrangements, subject to transparency requirements, ethical obligations, and professional oversight. While regulated fee structures may preserve professional standards and discourage undercutting, they may also increase transaction costs and restrict competition. Conversely, liberalised legal services markets promote consumer choice, innovation, and pricing flexibility but may create concerns regarding information asymmetry, inconsistent service quality, and inadequate consumer protection.