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We aim to offer all of our clients quality legal advice with a personal service at a fair cost. And we will:
Our charges will generally be calculated by reference to the time actually spent by the solicitors and other staff in respect of any work which they do on your behalf.
This will include meetings with you and perhaps others, reading and working on papers, correspondence, including emails, preparation of any detailed costs calculations, and time spent travelling away from the office when this is necessary.
From time to time, we may arrange for some of this work to be carried out by persons not directly employed by this Firm.
We can take you through the options including agreeing a fixed fee if you wish to instruct us. Please contact us to discuss the options in order to see what best suits you and for an estimation of the likely costs of representation.
For example, a client facing the prospect of a custodial sentence and/or there are complex issues of law and they are on passported benefits, then there is a very high likelihood that legal aid will be granted. This is also the case where you have a child appearing in youth court for most matters: the parents’ financial means are not considered when determining a child’s legal aid application.
Legal aid funding will not however be granted where a person’s income exceeds the maximum threshold limit for legal aid funding. The Legal Aid Agency will take account of the spousal/partner’s income if applicable when determining eligibility although there are exceptions.
Please be advised that everybody is eligible for free advice and representation at the police station irrespective of their financial situation where they have been arrested or invited to attend the police station as a volunteer for an interview under caution. This may not however apply where a person is invited for interview with an authority, for example the DWP requesting a person’s attendance for interview at their offices in relation to benefit fraud.
Where a client is not eligible for legal aid funding based on the interests of justice and/or financial criteria, consideration may be given to being privately represented. Our fees are also based on the full cooperation of the client and will require attendance at all hearings (unless there is a reasonable excuse for the absence in which case please notify us immediately) and appointments with the nominated solicitor, full instructions being given and include advice and representation, case preparation and correspondence. Any failure to cooperate which leads to additional work may not be covered under an agreed fee.
Please note that should you require further assistance for matters arising out of an existing case, then we will be entitled to charge for the additional work to be undertaken but you will be advised of this prior to any further work being carried out.
Any disbursements for experts’ fees, for example medical reports, drug analysis reports, will be charged in addition to the fixed fee.
1. Plea and sentence from £1000 plus VAT (most cases are concluded within 2 appearances. We do not charge for an additional appearance where the matter is unable to proceed through no fault of the client).
2. Magistrates court trial start from £2000 plus VAT
Most cases fall at the lower end of the price scale as it is not often that a trial will last more than one day unless multiple defendants are involved.
1. Committal for sentence from £1000 plus VAT which covers advice and representation at the initial magistrates’ court appearance through to the sentence hearing at the crown court and includes counsel’s fees.
2. Crown Court trials from £5000 plus VAT. The agreed sum will include all preparation, hearings and correspondence until the conclusion of the case and counsel’s fees if applicable.
3. Appeal hearings from £1500 plus VAT. This costs figure will depend on the complexity and volume of evidence and the likely duration of the case.
Please be advised that it is not possible to give an exact figure as to the costs of representation especially for crown court trials as this will depend on a host of factors such as complexity of legal issues, number of persons involved, the length of trial and seniority of the trial advocate for example.
It is always advisable to contact us directly so that we can give you a realistic cost estimate for private representation which will be based solely on the facts of your case.