Legal Fees
We will discuss all funding options with you at the outset of your case to advise you about the most appropriate funding arrangement for your matter to give you a level of cost certainty and flexibility.
Depending on your issue we may offer you different funding options, including those set out below.
Conditional Fee Agreement (commonly known as No Win No Fee)
A Conditional Fee Agreement has very low financial risk to you. This is because you are not required to make any payment up front regardless of the outcome of the case. Providing you act in accordance with our advice, it is only if your case wins that a payment is made. The payment is usually made as a deduction from your compensation.
If you lose your case you will not have to pay for solicitors fees. We take this risk on your behalf. If we win your case we charge a success fee and any shortfall in legal costs between what has been incurred and what we receive from the other side. The amount we receive from the other side is now fixed unless the case is valued at over £100,000. Details of the fixed amounts we will receive from the other side are set out here: PRACTICE DIRECTION 45 – TABLES OF FIXED COSTS (2023) (justice.gov.uk)
The success fee is charged based upon our assessment of the risks in your case and the value of our work in progress calculated by reference to the amount of time spent on your matter. It is capped at 25% of the past loss and value of your injuries and we also cap the total of the success fee and any shortfall in cost recovery at 25% of your overall damages. The amount charged may be lower than that depending upon the individual circumstances and risk factors in your case.
Our hourly rates vary from £140 and £300 per hour plus Vat dependent upon the level of experience and qualifications of the person acting or undertaking work in your case. We charge in units of 6 minutes, so each hour is made up of 10 units and our charges are based upon the time spent.
Private Funding
We understand that the thought of the costs involved in pursuing this type of legal matter may be troubling you. We are flexible in our approach to payment arrangements and are happy to discuss suitable payment arrangements for you.
Fixed Fee
On some matters we have fixed fee options available. The firm will assess your situation and provide you with a fixed fee to assist with your case. This arrangement gives you a level of cost certainty. In some circumstances we are able to do this in stages of your case giving you more flexibility.
Agreed Hourly Rate
The firm will assess your case and provide a fully flexible option on an hour-by-hour basis. You will be given information about the likely overall cost of your matter and you will be updated as to these costs as the matter progresses. Our hourly rates vary from £140 and £300 per hour plus Vat dependent upon the level of experience and qualifications of the person acting or undertaking work in your case. We charge in units of 6 minutes, so each hour is made up of 10 units and our charges are based upon the time spent.
If we win your case we charge any shortfall in legal costs between what has been incurred and what we receive from the other side. The amount we receive from the other side is now fixed unless the case is valued at over £100,000. Details of the fixed amounts we will receive from the other side are set out here: PRACTICE DIRECTION 45 – TABLES OF FIXED COSTS (2023) (justice.gov.uk)
Disbursements and timescales
We will incur expenses in your case called disbursements. These are usually fees of external parties for services provided on your behalf in the course of your case. They include things like barrister’s fees, expert fees, court fees, interpreter fees and fees of agents or valuers for the production of reports or documents.
The fees vary considerably depending upon the level of material to review and expertise of the person producing the work. Expert fees can vary from a few hundred pounds up to several thousands of pounds for one report. Court fees usually vary from £455 to £10,000 for issuance of court proceedings. We will seek funds on account of such disbursements from you in advance.
The timescales for completion of civil litigation cases again varies depending upon the nature of the case. A straightforward case where liability is admitted at the outset and either a single expert report obtained or no expert report is required before the claim is settled may take a few weeks to a few months to conclude. A complex case of high value involving many documents which is defended and requires multiple disciplines of expert evidence to conclude in addition to applications, cost budgeting and preliminary issues may take in the region of 4-5 years.