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.
Legal aid is generally granted in most cases where it is in the interests of justice to do so and where the person meets the financial criteria.
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.
In most cases, we operate a fixed fee system so that our clients have a realistic indication of the costs involved in private representation which will enable them to plan the financial cost. We aim to be completely transparent when it comes to our fees. As our solicitors have over 20 years’ experience, our hourly rate is from £325 but it is always preferable to work with a fixed fee so our clients have a realistic cost estimate.
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.
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.