FAMILY AND HOUSING FEES  

1. INITIAL CONSULTATION

£100 plus VAT (£120)

Length – usually one hour but could take longer depending on the complexity of the matter.

• • Understanding your legal matter
  • Provide us a complete history
  • Advice on the strength and weakness of your matter
  • Advice on potential solutions and the way forward
  • Length of time needed to undertake work
  • List of documentation that we require from you

2. CONSULTATION PLUS DETAILED ADVICE LETTER

£200 plus VAT (£240)

3. LEGAL AID FEES

Please be advised that you may be eligible for legal help in your civil matter. However, this may be means tested. If means tested, your financial circumstances will be evaluated to determine whether you are eligible or not.

Legal aid is MEANS and MERITS tested.

• • For Means, the legal aid agency would expect that you cannot afford to pay your legal fees. It is usually the case that all those on ‘Passported Benefits’ like Income Support, JSA, ESA etc are eligible for legal aid.
  • For Merits, the legal aid agency would expect that there is a genuine benefit that will accrue to the person for this matter to be funded.

4. PRIVATE FEES

This fee will be based on the time we spend dealing with a case and is exclusive of VAT. This will take into account the following;

• Time spent meeting with you and others,
• Any time spent travelling, considering, preparing and working on papers
• The grade of the fee earner and expenses rate per hour
• Disbursements and expenses
• Any other fees.

There are several grades of fee earners and the expense rate per hour for each can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/solicitors-guideline-hourly-rates

Other fees include:

• Telephone calls (both made and received) – £20.00 each
• Letters (both written and received) – £15.00 per letter
• Travel/waiting – £45.00 per hour

Disbursement and expenses are:

• These are expenses which are incurred and do not form part of our own legal costs.  These include Counsel’s fees, fees for medical or other experts in preparing reports and carrying out your instructions, Court issue fees, etc.

5. COMPLEX CASES

If your case is considered complex or difficult we will provide you with a personalised quote.

The fee will depend on the complexity of the case, the person dealing with it and the urgency of the matter.

This fee will be discussed with you at the initial appointment and is exclusive of VAT, application fees, disbursements and expenses.

PLEASE NOTE:

This list is not exhaustive but is intended to provide you with an idea of the range of expenses, in addition to solicitors’ costs, that can be incurred in dealing with your case.  Photocopying charges and the costs of fax transmissions which form part of our overheads are normally included within the service at the expense rate quoted.  However, we reserve the right to charge for these separately in the event that the amount of photocopying and the use of fax transmissions or other technology reasonably require this.

Details of such expenses which you are likely to have to pay, when they are likely to become due and an estimate of these costs will be given to you by the person in charge of your case as soon as possible.

If your instructions mean we have to work outside normal office hours, we reserve the right to increase the level of the hourly rate/s.  You will be notified in writing of any increased rate.

The rates maybe higher if for example the matter becomes more complex than expected in which event we will notify you.