- Employment
- Motoring
- Estate Administration (Probate)
- Licensing Applications
- Costs of Debt Claims
- Residential Property
Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal:
- Simple case: £10,000-£15,000 (excluding VAT);
- Medium complexity case: £15,000 to £25,000 (excluding VAT);
- High complexity case: £25,000 plus (excluding VAT).
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;
- Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties);
- The number of witnesses and documents;
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer;
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal.
There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of £1500 per day (excluding VAT). Generally, we would allow one to 15 days depending on the complexity of your case.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees, which we may ask you to pay on account to us. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Counsel’s fees estimated between £700 to £3000 per day (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).
Key stages
The fees set out above cover all of 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 response;
- Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party;
- Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process;
- Preparing or considering a schedule of loss;
- 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.
The stages set out above are an indication and if some of 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 2 months. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take at least 6 months to 2 years. 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 matter progresses.
The Employment Team
The team has a wealth of experience in all areas of Employment law, including contentious and non-contentious law, and delivers a high quality service. The Solicitor who will deal with your matter will be Simon Martin, Consultant Solicitor. For further information, please contact us.
Summary Only Motoring Offences under Part I of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and s89 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984
Our fees are calculated on the basis of an hourly rate, as follows:
Solicitors | £250.00 plus VAT |
Paralegals & Trainee Solicitors | £150.00 plus VAT |
Short outgoing letters and routine phone calls are charged at 1/10 of an hour. All other work is timed in six minute units and charged at the relevant hourly rate. Depending upon the offence charged with, the complexity of the matter and whether you intend to plead guilty or not guilty, the costs of dealing with this type of matter may be significantly different. However, we would expect our fees to be in the region of £1000 plus VAT plus any Disbursements.
Fee includes:
- 2 hours attendance/preparation:
- considering evidence
- taking your instructions
- providing advice on likely sentence
- Attendance and representation at a single hearing at the Magistrates Court
The fee does not include:
- instruction of any expert witnesses
- taking statements from any witnesses
- advice and assistance in relation to a special reasons hearing
- advice or assistance in relation to any appeal
- disbursements. Disbursements may include medical reports. We may ask you to make payment of these sums on account prior to making payment on your behalf.
The key stages of your matter are based on the presumption that you have entered a guilty plea and have a date for your hearing:
- Meet with your solicitor to provide instructions on what happened.
- We will consider initial disclosure, and any other evidence and provide advice.
- Arranging to take any witness statements if necessary (this will have an additional cost, of £375).
- We will explain the court procedure to you so you know what to expect on the day of your hearing, and the sentencing options available to the court.
- We will conduct any further preparatory work, obtain further instructions from you if necessary and answer any follow up queries you have.
- We cannot provide a timescale of when your hearing will take place, as this depends on the court listing for that day.
- We will attend court on the day and meet with you before going before the court. We anticipate being at court for half a day.
- We will discuss the outcome with you. If advice is required on appeal, this will carry an additional cost.
The Road Traffic Team
The team has a wealth of experience in all areas of Road Traffic Matters and delivers a high quality service. The Solicitor who will deal with your matter will be Jeremy Woodcraft, Consultant Solicitor. For further information, please contact us.
Probate
The work required in relation to the administration of an estate of someone who has
died can vary enormously depending on a number of factors including whether or not
they left a Will; the type of assets that they owned; whether all of the assets are in
England and Wales (e.g no Investment bonds held in the Isle of Man or Jersey);
whether they are beneficiaries of (or have created) a trust; how many beneficiaries
there are of the estate; whether there are any disputes regarding the distribution of
the estate or the ownership of the assets.
A “Simple Estate”
In relation to an estate where:
- There is a valid Will;
- There is no more than one house;
- There are only one or two bank or building society accounts;
- There are only one or two shareholdings and all share certificates are available;
- There are no assets of any other nature (other than normal household personal items) and all of the assets are located in England & Wales
- There are a small number of beneficiaries;
- There are no disputes between the beneficiaries or people who believe that they should benefit from the estate;
- No inheritance tax is payable and the executors do not need to submit a full Inheritance Tax account or claim additional reliefs;
- We will not be responsible for organising or supervising the clearing of the deceased’s property and disposing of or distributing the personal effects;
On the basis that we would handle the process for you, we would anticipate that the
administration of an estate such as the above would take between 10 and 20 hours.
As an hourly fee of £350 per hour, this would give a charge for the administration of
between £3,500 and £7,000 plus VAT at 20%.
In addition to our fees and VAT, the following disbursements would also need to be
paid:
- Probate Court Fee £272;
- Trustee Act Notice Fee in relation to Trustee Act Notices in the London
Gazette and a Local Newspaper-quotes for these will be obtained, but are
likely to amount to £300 or £400 depending on the local paper and the notice
required: - Swear Fee on Probate Papers £7.00 per executor;
- Bankruptcy searches against each beneficiary, £5.00 per name;
The above estimate does not allow for the costs of dealing with either selling a
property or assenting it into the names of one or more beneficiaries. Where a property
needs to be dealt with either by sale or transfer a separate quote would be provided
and Land Registry Fees based on the value of the property would also need to be
paid.
Complicating Factors
A number of things can have an impact on the amount of work involved in even a
small estate, for example,
- Where someone dies intestate (that is without leaving a Will),
- The deceased owned assets in companies based in Jersey or the Isle of Man (such as life insurance investment bonds);
- There are a number of shareholdings;
- There are disputes between the beneficiaries or people who feel they should have been beneficiaries;
- Not all of the assets can be traced or assets come to light once the administration has started;
- The deceased was the beneficiary of a trust.
How Long Will the Administration take?
We would anticipate that, obtaining the Grant of Probate in relation to a “Simple
Estate” as above would take between 8 and 14 weeks. Collecting in the assets
normally takes between another 12 and 18 weeks. The distribution of the assets and
providing estate accounts would normally then take between 4 and 6 weeks after
this.
More Information
In some situations even quite large estates can be dealt with without the need for
Probate, owing to the nature of the assets and how they were ouned. In other
situations, even quite small estates can be complicated, difficult and slow to
administer because of a number of complicating factors. For this reason, we would
always recommend having a conversation with us so that we can give an indication
of the likely actual costs and time scale in relation to a specific estate.
We charge an hourly rate for our services. We deal with many different types of licence. To give you an indication of our fees set out below are estimates for matters of varying complexity:
- Simple application: eg. a restaurant in a commercial area closing at 23.00hrs – £1400 – £2500 + VAT;
- More complex application: eg. late night bar – £2100 – £4500 + VAT.
- Complex application: large capacity premises with different licensable activity in different parts or premises located in the cumulative impact zone £4000 plus
Our fees are calculated on the basis of an hourly rate, as follows:
Solicitors | £250.00 plus VAT |
Paralegals & Trainee Solicitors | £150.00 plus VAT |
Short outgoing letters and routine phone calls are charged at 1/10 of an hour. All other work is timed in six minute units and charged at the relevant hourly rate.
Our fees do not include Disbursements.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as the application fee. We will pay the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. However, we may require you to put us in funds prior to paying those disbursements on your behalf. Such disbursements are likely to include:
- Application fee (payable to licensing authority): £100 – £635;
- Advertising fee: £300 – £700;
- Enquiry agent fees to display public notices: £150 – £450;
- Special delivery fee to serve the application: £7 – £28;
- Printing additional copies of plans if necessary: £20 – £80.
These fees vary depending on the individual premises and where it is located. The fees can on occasion be higher than the ranges given above. We will give you an accurate figure for each item as soon as we are able to do so.
Our Fee
Our Fee includes:
- Taking your instructions and advising you as to how you can promote the licensing objectives within your application;
- Advising you as the type of plans you are required to submit with your application;
- Completing the application form for a new premises licence (including the operating schedule) in accordance with your instructions and submitting this to the local licensing authority alongside suitable plans. You must provide suitable plans;
- Providing guidance on the fee levels payable to the licensing authority;
- Preparing copies of the premises licence application for disclosure to the responsible authorities and serving copies of the application on the responsible authorities;
- Drafting the notices advertising the premises licence application and submitting the notice to the local newspaper;
- Arranging with you for you to display the notice(s) advertising the premises licence application and advising as to where and how this should be done by you in order to comply with the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003;
- Providing a Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) consent form for signature by a personal licence holder proposed by yourself;
- Checking the licence once granted and correcting any errors with the licensing authority.
The Fee does not include:
- obtaining suitable plans;
- attending pre-consultation meetings with the Licensing Authority or Responsible Authorities, nor their fee for this meeting;
- dealing with or advising you in relation to queries or representations received from either the responsible authorities or other interested parties;
- advising on varying the licence;
- attendance and representation at a licensing sub-committee hearing of the responsible authority. If representations are received and attendance and representation at a licensing sub-committee is required, then we will provide a separate fee estimate for this work which will be charged at an hourly rate.
How long will my application take?
Matters usually take 6-8 weeks from receipt of full instructions from you. This is on the basis of the application being relatively straightforward and you being able to provide all the necessary documents promptly. If your matter is more complex, for example, if there is substantial opposition from interested parties, or if there is a delay in receiving the documents we need, it may take longer.
The Licensing Team
The team has a wealth of experience in all areas of Licensing and delivers a high quality service. The Solicitor who will deal with your matter will be Jeremy Woodcraft, Consultant Solicitor. For further information, please contact us.
Whether you are a business claiming in respect of unpaid invoices or an individual who is owed money personally in respect of a debt, we are keen to assist you. We have significant experience of assisting businesses and individuals to recover sums owed.
In order that we may help you understand the likely costs associated with such debt recovery action, we have set out the basis of our charging structure below, together with likely timescales and potential associated costs and disbursements which may arise in your case. Some cases are simple; others are not. On that basis, the costs in each individual case will change and our Dispute Resolution team would be happy to provide you with a definitive quote to provide you certainty in your individual circumstances. Our team also deal with batches of debts and are happy to consider fees in light of the number of cases being referred to us.
There are many ways in which a debt can be recovered. We advocate, in the first instance, that pre-action correspondence is entered into (pursuant to the Civil Procedure Rules 1998) and then a Court claim is considered (and the below cost information is provided on that basis). It may be that a Statutory Demand and Bankruptcy / Winding Up Proceedings would be appropriate, depending upon the circumstances, and we can advise you of the likely costs of this if appropriate.
We are also willing to consider working on a Fixed Fee basis. We are happy to discuss this option with you.
Court Claims
These costs apply where your claim is in relation to an unpaid invoice or debt and enforcement action is not needed. If the other party disputes your claim at any point, we will discuss any further work required and provide you with revised advice about costs if necessary or an hourly rate dependent upon our assessment of the matter.
We usually work on an hourly rated basis. Our fees are calculated on the basis of an hourly rate, as follows:
Solicitors | £250.00 plus VAT |
Paralegals & Trainee Solicitors | £150.00 plus VAT |
Short outgoing letters and routine phone calls are charged at 1/10 of an hour. All other work is timed in six minute units and charged at the relevant hourly rate.
The likely costs associated with bringing a debt claim are set out below. These are estimates only. The actual costs of pursuing a debt may differ and we will give you tailored advice on this in our Client Care Letter and correspondence at and throughout your instruction.
Debt value | Court fee | Our fee (incl. VAT) |
---|---|---|
Up to £5,000 | £25.00 – £185.00 | Hourly charged at £250.00 per hour plus, unless otherwise agreed. Estimated fees of up to 20% of the debt. |
£5,001 – £10,000 | £185.00 – £205.00 | Hourly charged at £250.00 per hour plus VAT, unless otherwise agreed. Estimated fees of up to 20% of the debt. |
£10,001 – £100,000 | 5% value of the claim | Hourly charged at £250.00 per hour plus VAT, unless otherwise agreed. Estimated fees of up to 20% of the debt. |
Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:
- The VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from your debtor (if you are registered for VAT).
- Costs, Interest and compensation may be recoverable from the opposition in certain circumstances. We will advise you of this. Interest and compensation apply, the claiming of these sums could take the debt into a higher banding or Court ‘track’, resulting in a higher cost.
- The costs quoted above are not for matters where enforcement action, such as the bailiff, is needed to collect your debt.
Our fees include:
- Taking your instructions and reviewing documentation.
- Undertaking appropriate searches.
- Sending a letter before action.
- Receiving payment and sending onto you, or if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing claim.
- Where no Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is received, applying to the Court to enter Judgment in default.
- When Judgment in default in received, write to the other side to request payment.
- Bringing the claim to Court and through to trial.
Our fees do not include Disbursements.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as the Court Issue fee. We will pay the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. However, we may require you to put us in funds prior to paying those disbursements on your behalf. Such disbursements may (non-exhaustively) include:
- Court Issue and other Court fees. Details of these may also be found within the Court’s publication, “Fees in the Civil and Family Courts”;
- Counsel’s fees (for drafting and appearing at any suitable hearings);
- Enquiry / Tracing Agents’ fees;
- Experts’ fees.
These fees vary depending on the individual case. We will give you an accurate figure for each item (or any other or additional fees) as soon as we are able to do so.
Time Scales
Matters usually take 4 weeks to 6 months from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the other side, depending on whether or not it is necessary to issue a claim. This is on the basis that the other side pays promptly on receipt of Judgment in default. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve. We should stress that, whilst we endeavour to bring your matter to a swift conclusion in the fastest possible timeframe, we are sometimes restricted by time limits set out in the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 or delays by third parties which are beyond our control (including the Courts or the debtor’s legal representatives).
Whilst every effort is made to accurately estimate time scales and likely costs, the circumstances of each claim are different and we will provide you with an individual assessment upon full and proper consideration of the facts related to your case and on an ongoing basis.
The Dispute Resolution Team
The team has a wealth of experience in all areas of Dispute Resolution, Litigation and Debt Recovery and delivers a high quality service. There are 2 permanent members of the team who are Gareth Raisbeck who is a Partner & Head of Dispute Resolution and he is supported by Michael Ridgwell who is a Commercial Litigator. For further information, please contact us.
Residential Property Fees
Purchase/Sale Price | Purchase of Freehold Property | Purchase of Leasehold Property | Mortgage Fee (Purchase Only) | Sale of Freehold Property | Sale of Leasehold Property |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Under £100,000 |
£620.00 |
£775.00 |
£130.00 |
£690.00 |
£810.00 |
£100,000 to £150,000 |
£690.00 |
£810.00 |
£155.00 |
£750.00 |
£875.00 |
£150,001 to £200,000 |
£755.00 |
£895.00 |
£155.00 |
£815.00 |
£940.00 |
£200,001 to £250,000 |
£830.00 |
£955.00 |
£155.00 |
£875.00 |
£1,000.00 |
£250,001 to £300,000 |
£900.00 |
£1,030.00 |
£155.00 |
£940.00 |
£1,060.00 |
£300,001 to £350,000 |
£975.00 |
£1,110.00 |
£185.00 |
£1,000.00 |
£1,125.00 |
£350,001 to £400,000 |
£1,070.00 |
£1,200.00 |
£185.00 |
£1,095.00 |
£1,220.00 |
£400,001 to £450,000 |
£1,175.00 |
£1,300.00 |
£185.00 |
£1,190.00 |
£1,315.00 |
£450,001 to £500,000 |
£1,275.00 |
£1,400.00 |
£185.00 |
£1,280.00 |
£1,405.00 |
£500,001 to £550,000 |
£1,370.00 |
£1,495.00 |
£185.00 |
£1,375.00 |
£1,500.00 |
£550,001 to £600,000 |
£1,430.00 |
£1,555.00 |
£185.00 |
£1,470.00 |
£1,595.00 |
£600,001 to £650,000 |
£1,495.00 |
£1,625.00 |
£185.00 |
£1,560.00 |
£1,690.00 |
£650,001 to £700,000 |
£1,555.00 |
£1,690.00 |
£185.00 |
£1,655.00 |
£1,780.00 |
£700,001 to £750,000 |
£1,625.00 |
£1,750.00 |
£185.00 |
£1,750.00 |
£1,875.00 |
£750,001 to £800,000 |
£1,690.00 |
£1,820.00 |
£185.00 |
£1,845.00 |
£1,970.00 |
£800,001 to £850,000 |
£1,745.00 |
£1,875.00 |
£210.00 |
£1,940.00 |
£2,060.00 |
£850,001 to £900,000 |
£1,820.00 |
£1,950.00 |
£210.00 |
£2,030.00 |
£2,155.00 |
£900,001 to £950,000 |
£1,880.00 |
£2,010.00 |
£210.00 |
£2,125.00 |
£2,250.00 |
£950,001 to £1,000,000 |
£1,950.00 |
£2,080.00 |
£210.00 |
£2,220.00 |
£2,345.00 |
£1,000,001 to £1,250,000 |
£2,275.00 |
£2,405.00 |
£260.00 |
£2,375.00 |
£2,440.00 |
£1,250,001 to £1,500,000 |
£2,600.00 |
£2,730.00 |
£260.00 |
£2,625.00 |
£2,690.00 |
Disbursement | Fees |
---|---|
Telegraphic Transfer Fee |
£30.00 (plus VAT) |
Stamp Duty Submission Fee (purchase only) |
£50.00 (plus VAT) |
Search Fees (purchase only) |
£350.00 (plus VAT) |
Bankruptcy Search (purchase only) |
£2.00 (no VAT) |
Official Copies |
£20.00 (no VAT) |
ID Checks |
£10.00 per person (plus VAT) |
Stamp Duty Land Tax (purchase only) |
Please request from the Property Team as this will depend on the Purchase Price |
HMLR Registration Fee (purchase only) |
Please request from the Property Team as this will depend on the Purchase Price |
In terms of timescales, we estimate that a residential property sale or purchase will take around 10 – 12 weeks to conclude in its entirety. Please note the above fees and likely disbursements are estimates only and may be subject to change. Please also note the above fees do not include VAT. For a comprehensive estimate setting out VAT and likely disbursements, which is tailored to the particular circumstances of your transaction, please contact our Residential Property Team.
Stages of the process
The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the
circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:
- Take your instructions and give you initial advice
- Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed
- Receive and advise on contract documents
- Carry out searches
- Obtain further planning documentation if required
- Make any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor
- Give you advice on all documents and information received
- Go through the conditions of the mortgage offer with you
- Send the final report or contract to you for signature
- Agree on the completion date (the date from which you own the property)
- Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened (exchange sets the completion date)
- Arrange for all monies needed to be received from the lender and you
- Complete purchase
- Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax
- Deal with application for registration at Land Registry
Stamp Duty or Land Tax (on purchase)
This depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website.
Our fee assumes that:
- This is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including for example (but not limited to) a defect in title which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction
- This is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease
- The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise
- All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation
- No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.