Costs
We also understand financial burden and worries that the legal process can present and want to ease that burden and help you manage the legal costs of your case in a clear and simple cost structure
Solicitor hourly rate £180* plus VAT
Medium complexity case £3,000.00 – £5,000.00
High complexity case £8,000.00 – £10,000.00
Factors that could make a case more complex:
- If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim
- Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person
- Making or defending a costs application
- The number of witnesses and documents
There will be an additional charge for attending a Court Hearing of £2,000.00 per day (excluding VAT where applicable). Generally, we would allow 1-3 days depending on the complexity of the case.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Counsel’s fees estimated between £2,500.00 to £5,000.00 per day (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation)
Important Stages:
The fees set out above cover all the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change);
- Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;
- Preparing claim or defence;
- Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party;
- Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process;
- Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary hearing;
- Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents;
- Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses;
- Preparing bundle of documents;
- Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements;
- Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list;
- Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including Instructions to Counsel.
We also provide a Settlement Service. The costs of approving a straightforward Settlement Agreement are normally between £250.00- £500.00
The stages set out above are an indication and if some of the stages above are not required, the fee will be reduced. You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can also be arranged on your individual needs.
How long will my matter take?
The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take months. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take about a year or more depending on the Court’s Timetabling. This is just an estimate and we will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the mater progresses.
Fixed fees**
Divorce £500 plus VAT
Financial Clean Break settlement (agreed) £250 plus VAT
Financial Court Hearings-
- Preparation of Form E fee agreed case by case
- First Appointment £500 plus VAT
- Financial Dispute Resolution Hearing £800 plus VAT
Domestic Abuse Court Hearings
- Emergency Application £800 plus VAT
- On Notice hearings £400 plus VAT
Children Court Hearings
- Preparation of Application £200 plus VAT
- First appointment at Court (up to three hours) £500 plus VAT
- Further hearings at court (up to two hours) £300 plus VAT
Change of Name Deeds for Adults £100 plus VAT
Cohabitation Agreement £500 plus VAT
** all fees are excluding court fees and any out of pocket expenses such as travel costs and parking and any process servers fees where documents need to be served personally
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