Boyd Legal has been ranked as the top equity release law firm, in a poll of over 250 advisers.  

The law firm scored 7.77 overall out of 10 in a survey by later life services platform Air in its first-half Temperature Check report.   

The legal business was followed by Gilroy Steel with 7.03, and Equilaw in third with 6.68.  

The poll asked advisors to rate law firms they used for equity release cases across four key areas – communication, response time, online service, and overall service.   

Boyd Legal came out on top in the communication and response time categories, while Equilaw topped the category for online service.   

However, the study points out of all the categories, it was online service that produced the lowest scores, which “suggests that legal firms in this arena need to consider their offering carefully”.  

They were also asked to judge the firms on three other factors – ‘would recommend’, ‘values my business’, and ‘goes the extra mile’.  

Among these three factors, the poll reveals that Boyd Legal again received the most positive feedback, with “a clean sweep of all three categories contributing to an overall average score” of 79.49%. The second highest overall score went to Poyntons, 61.90%, followed in third by Gilroy Steel, 59.77%.  

The report adds: “Legal firms not only provide conveyancing as part of the equity release process but also independent legal advice to ensure customers fully understand their options as part of the advice process.”  

Air chief executive Stuart Wilson says: “In our fifth instalment of our Temperature Check, we invited advisers to share feedback on legal firms for the very first time.   

“Providing not only conveyancing services but also independent legal advice, these firms are a vital cog in the later life lending machine, and it only felt natural to incorporate this assessment in our report.  

“Dealing with a specialist firm you respect and trust as part of an equity release transaction can help it to progress smoothly, which is why we feel it’s important to recognise those legal firms who have excelled in this area.   

“Congratulations to Boyd Legal for being recognised for your outstanding work. There were other respected and well-recognised names in the top three but there is certainly an opportunity for firms to improve their offering – especially when it comes to their online presence.”  

Air says advisors included in this poll account for 14% of all equity release business in the first half of this year.