Our Fees
How your legal work can be paid for
Depending upon the type of work we are doing for you, there may be different options about how that work is paid for. We will always discuss our charges and any options which may be open to you at the very start and only proceed on your acceptance.
Private costs
Instructing a solicitor is always an area where there is concern about how much legal advice will cost. When dealing with matters where we charge an hourly rate, we will be pleased to give you clear and open advice about the costs that you will incur in instructing us to act on your behalf. We are happy at any stage through your instructions to update you on your costs position. We aim to keep you informed throughout the work that we carry out for you so that you are clear as to your potential liability for costs.
Fixed Price Estimates
In a number of cases, we will give you an estimate for doing a known quantity of work. This works well with conveyancing costs when you are buying, selling or re-mortgaging a property. It also applies if we are drafting a Will for you or preparing a Lasting Power of Attorney. We give you the fixed price estimate before we start doing any work for you so you are able to budget for it. Our estimate would only ever then need to be revised if we became involved with unexpected work or there are complications.
Fixed Fee Service
For certain type of legal advice matters we offer a fixed fee service where we can assess your legal problem and provide you with initial advice. In these cases your costs are limited and you are clear about what you will have to pay before you instruct us. This service may involve a face to face meeting in our office or a solicitor’s letter to a third party to try to help settle matters. If this does not deal with the legal problem completely we can then give you very clear advice about probable future costs.
Public Funding (Legal Aid)
We are able to offer legal aid within our specialist area of family law. Often legal aid can mean that the advice you receive is free of charge to you or has a very modest financial contribution that would need to be paid each month no matter how much work we undertake. As a matter of course we assess all new clients who wish us to help with family matters to see if they will be eligible for legal aid at the outset.
No win, no fee
In some instances, we can offer a Conditional Fee Agreement ('no win, no fee agreement'). This means that you will not have to pay our legal costs if your case is not successful, however you will be liable to meet any disbursements incurred in your case, such as medical report fee or appointment of barrister fee.
In some circumstances, we are also able to put in place 'after the event' insurance policies that will cover the cost of disbursements that you incur throughout your case, or payment of the other side's legal fees and disbursements if the court order you to pay the same. We will ensure that suitable insurance is discussed with you when we discuss with you funding options for your case.
You can find more detailed costs for specific types of work by following the links to Residential Property, Debt Claims, Probate and Estate Administration and Employment Tribunals and Court Cases.