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A list of our pricing structures
We take our client services very seriously and use plain, jargon free language and be as clear as possible whenever we communicate with you. We will make sure that you are kept fully informed about the progress of your case on a regular basis and will respond back to you as soon as we possibly can. We will provide you with clear and comprehensive information about our legal costs and will do everything in our power to achieve the result you are wanting.
Employment Fees
The following costs information is in relation to claims for wrongful dismissal and unfair dismissal only which might be brought against your business. Whilst the fee estimates below do not refer to discrimination claims, we can discuss fees with you for these claims on a case by case basis.
There may be instances where claims of this nature and employment claims generally are covered by an insurance policy. We will discuss this with you where appropriate.
* On the basis that the claim is defended in full to a final hearing
Factors that could make a case more complex:
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If it is necessary to make or defend applications, to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim
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Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person
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Making or defending a costs application
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Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is subject to any protected characteristics, e.g. disability, race, gender etc. (if this is not agreed by the parties)
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The number of witnesses and documents
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If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if an employee claims to have been dismissed after blowing the whistle on their employer
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Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal
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Prices do not include the cost of representation at the final hearing or any hearing throughout the tribunal process if the hearing is conducted by Counsel. Our fees for instructing Counsel and attending alongside Counsel are included in the fee estimate. Where the instruction of Counsel is necessary, we will provide you with an estimate of Counsel’s fees to approve. Counsel’s fees could be anything between £650 per day to £2,500 per day plus VAT (including preparation) depending on the complexity of the claim and the seniority of Counsel. The hearing could be from half a day to a week or more (in complex claims).
Key Stages
The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim (if we are instructed from the outset):
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Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and is subject to change)
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Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;
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Preparing the response to the claim
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Reviewing and advising on the claim and related documents from other party
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Considering a schedule of loss and preparing a counter schedule where necessary
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Preparing for (and attending if by telephone) a Preliminary Hearing
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Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process
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Exchanging documents with the other party
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Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with the witnesses
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Reviewing and advising on the other party's witness statements
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Preparing a bundle of documents
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Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list
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Preparation for the Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel (fees for attendance are not included if Counsel is to be used as stated above)
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 6-8 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 3-6 months for a wrongful dismissal claim and up to 1 to 2 years for an unfair dismissal claim depending on the complexity. 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.
Who will carry out this work?
Our employment law team is made up of specialist solicitors and collectively has over 150 years’ experience in dealing with all manner of employment disputes.
Our Head of Insured Employment, Robin White, leads a team of 19 solicitors across four offices and has been working in the field of employment law for more than 9 years.
The solicitors on the Employment Law team are experienced in all aspects of employment law, including Unfair Dismissal, Discrimination, TUPE, Equal Pay Claims, Holiday Pay and Contractual pay claims. Through a process of Continual Professional Development, they work to ensure that their knowledge of this area of law remains current, meaning our clients can be assured of the best service possible.
The team members have between x and xx years of experience in this area of law.
Our team structure ensures that junior solicitors and members of staff are supported and supervised appropriately. This means that the quality of advice does not change, regardless of the solicitor handling your case.
To supplement and support our solicitors, we employ a team of two paralegals; they receive extensive training within our firm, working under the direct supervision of a solicitor with at least 5 years’ post-qualification experience.
Click here for an overview of some of the senior members of this team.
Motoring Offences Fees
Below we provide price information for legal assistance in relation to summary only motoring offences under Part I of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and s89 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.
We have provided price information for the above offences (e.g. speeding, excess alcohol, no insurance, careless driving etc.) dependent on whether the response to the prosecution is: a guilty plea; a not guilty plea; mitigating circumstances/special reasons arguments or cases where no attendance is required.
If any additional disbursements are required such as travel expenses or experts fees we will let you know at the outset and give you an idea of the likely cost.
What is included in the fees, and how long should this work take to complete?
Guilty Pleas:
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Considering the evidence
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Taking your instructions and advising you
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Corresponding with you and others
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Preparing for the hearing
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Attending the hearing
This will usually involve between 4-5 hours work.
Mitigating circumstances/special reasons arguments:
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Considering the evidence
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Taking your instructions and advising you
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Corresponding with you and others
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Preparing for the hearing (in which you will have to give evidence)
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Attending the hearing
This will usually involve between 5-6 hours work.
Cases where no attendance required
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Considering the evidence
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Taking your instructions and advising you
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Corresponding with you and others
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Preparing the written plea in mitigation on your behalf
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Submitting this to the Court
This will usually involve approximately 3 hours of work.
Not Guilty Pleas
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Considering the evidence
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Taking your instructions and advising you
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Corresponding with you and others
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Preparing for the hearings
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Attending the hearings (usually at least 2 hearings) including the trial itself
This will usually involve between 10-12 hours work.
Who will carry out this work?
All of our solicitors in our Business Crime and Regulatory Team have the requisite experience to represent you in a summary motor offence (all advocacy at Court must be carried out by a solicitor). The team members have between 12 and 35 years’ experience in this area of law.
Our Business Crime and Regulatory team is made up of specialist solicitors and collectively has many years’ experience in dealing with all manner of cases in this area. Our Head of Insured Regulatory, Stephanie Thirlwell, leads a team of 8 solicitors across four offices and has been working in the field of business crime and regulatory law for more than 15 years.
Through a process of Continual Professional Development, they work to ensure that their knowledge remains current, meaning our clients get the best service possible.
Our team structure ensures that junior solicitors and members of staff are supported and supervised appropriately. This means that the quality of advice does not change, regardless of the solicitor handling your case.
To supplement and support our solicitors, we employ a paralegal who receives extensive training within our firm and works under the direct supervision of a solicitor with at least 5 years’ post-qualification experience. Non qualified legal staff such as Trainee Solicitors or Paralegals may assist our solicitors with the work in terms of collating evidence and taking instructions from you but they will be supervised by the solicitor.
Click here for an overview of some of the senior members of this team.
Debt Recovery Fees
Our fees for the recovery of disputed/undefended debts
The fees set out below apply where you wish to seek recovery of an unpaid debt from a business or individual debtor which is not disputed or complex. If the debtor disputes your claim for recovery of the debt or the matter becomes complex at any point, we will provide you with revised information about our fees before proceeding which could be on a fixed fee basis (e.g. if a one-off letter is required) or an hourly rate basis if more extensive work is needed
What is included in “Our pre-action fee”:
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Taking instructions from you and considering any relevant documents provided by you
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Making limited enquiries on the debtor at companies house and obtaining a credit report (corporate debtors only)
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Preparing and sending a letter to the debtor demanding payment within a relatively short period of time (letter before action) although please note that we are obliged to comply with the pre-action protocol for debt claims in the event of individual debtors, which affords the debtor at least 30 days before proceedings can be issued (in the absence of a response)
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Receiving and transferring payment to you
What is included in “Our litigation fee”:
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if the debt is not paid within the prescribed timescale, preparing and issuing court proceedings
What is typically included in “Our judgment fee”:
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Applying to the court to enter judgment on an admission or in default if the debtor fails to dispute the claim within the prescribed timescales in accordance with the court rules
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Preparing and sending a letter to the debtor requesting payment of the judgment within a relatively short period of time
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Advising you on your options for enforcing the judgment if payment is not received within the prescribed timescale
Other points to note
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At various stages during the process and before proceeding further, it may be necessary to trace the debtor for which trace agent fees will be payable in addition to the above fees and an additional fee of £75 plus vat for our time spent instructing the agent and advising you on the outcome
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The pre-action fee, VAT element of our fees and any trace agent fees cannot be recovered from your debtor
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Court fees and an element of the litigation and judgment fees are potentially recoverable from the debtor
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Interest and compensation (under the Late Payment Act) may take the debt into a higher banding with a higher cost
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Our fixed fees do not apply to where the debt is disputed or defended or if the matter is or becomes complex
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Complexity will be decided at out absolute discretion, but examples might include debts arising from complex contractual arrangements; the debtor is in or on the verge of an insolvency process; and negotiations with the debtor become protracted and involved
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Our fixed fees include routine negotiations with the debtor
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Our fees do not include preparing and agreeing a debt repayment agreement – our fees for this work will instead be charged at our hourly rates
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Where hourly rates are referred to, our fees will be calculated in accordance with the time spent by our staff based on the relevant hourly rates, although fee estimates will be provided (and agreement sought from you) wherever possible before work is undertaken
How long will my matter take?
Undisputed debt recovery matters usually take between 2 to 12 weeks from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the debtor depending on whether or not it is necessary to issue a claim and whether the debtor is an individual or a corporate entity. This estimate assumes that the debtor pays promptly on receipt of the Judgment in default.
If enforcement action is required, then the matter will take longer to resolve, and we will advise you at that stage of our likely fees and an indication of likely timescale.
Who will carry out this work?
Debt recovery matters are handled by our Commercial Disputes legal team. This team comprises 9 qualified solicitors, a trainee solicitor and 4 non-qualified legal secretaries/paralegals. The team is directed by Legal Director, Stuart Ashall, Head of Insured Litigation. The team has many years of collective experience in delivering high quality work in all matters relating to commercial disputes, including debt recovery.
Click here for an overview of some of the senior members of this team.
Need legal advice?
If you require legal advice on this matter and would like to speak to a member of our team, contact us on 03300 414 996, or by email at contactus@rradar.com.