Cost Transparency

In accordance with the Solicitors’ Regulatory Transparency Rules we are required to ensure that members of the public have accurate and relevant information about a solicitor or firm when they are considering purchasing certain legal services.

The services specified in the regulations which are applicable to the areas of law practised by this firm relate to the provision of advice and representation at the Magistrates Court in relation to summary only road traffic offences dealt with at a single hearing. A summary only
offence is an offence which can only be dealt with at a Magistrates Court.

The most common examples of offence are:-

 Speeding
 Driving without insurance
 Careless Driving
 Failing to provide a specimen
 Failing to stop after an accident
 Driving a vehicle whilst over the prescribed limit for alcohol
 Driving otherwise in accordance with a licence

For further information on whether any other specific offences are summary only offences please refer to Schedule 2 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, which can be accessed via this link – https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/53/schedule/2

The costs involved will be dependent on whether you choose to instruct a solicitor to represent you in this matter on the basis that time is charged at an hourly rate or whether we are able to that a fixed fee will be applicable.

If you instruct the solicitor on the basis of an hourly rate (plus VAT at the rate of 20%) then the rate at which you will be charged is set out below: 

 Senior Solicitors and Barristers or more than 7 years PQE – £350 per hour – Fee Earner Level A
 Solicitors of more than 3 years PQE – £250 per hour – Fee Earner Level B
 Solicitors of less than 3 years PQE – £150 per hour – Fee Earner Level C

We can offer a fixed fee of £2,500 plus VAT (at the rate of 20%) in the following
circumstances:-

 Where you have been summonsed or charged at the police station with one of the offences listed above.

 There is not an excessive amount of “advanced information” of evidence relating to your case – ie; not more than 100 pages

 Where the Court at which you are due to appear is located within a 20 mile radius of the office at which the solicitor that you choose to instruct is based.

We will agree a fixed fee to cover the following:-
 Consider the advanced information
 Meet with you to discuss the hearing including
   take your instructions in respect of mitigation if you intend to enter a guilty plea; and
   advise you on the potential sentence you might receive; or take your instructions with regards any not guilty plea and the next steps in your      case; and advise you as to court process leading to your trial and the next steps that will need to be undertaken.

   Attend with you at Court at a single hearing to provide representation for you

You will also be liable to meet the cost of any disbursements incurred by that solicitor travelling to Court to represent you, and any other disbursements reasonably incurred, and agreed with you in advance, in preparing your case for that hearing.

Our costs of mileage to attend Court to represent you will be £0.45 per mile. Parking fees and/or the costs of public transport will also be charged as appropriate. For the most part the combined costs of mileage, parking and/or public transport costs will usually not exceed £30. These disbursements do generally attract VAT at the rate of 20%.

The other most common type of disbursement that might be incurred for attendances at the Magistrates’ Court are the costs of Counsel; which will arise if we are not able to send one of our own specialist advocates to Court or if you specifically require representation by Counsel. The costs of Counsel attending a hearing vary considerably based on relevant seniority and experience. We will need to discuss the choice of advocate with you on a case by case basis. Counsel’s fees generally attract VAT at the rate of 20%.

These fee estimates are not applicable to those cases where “exceptional hardship” is advanced as a reason to seek to avoid a mandatory ban where a person will have accumulated 12 or more penalty points on their licence as a result of the proceedings.

Where we are able to identify that there is a risk of disqualification under the “totting up” provisions then it will usually be necessary to conduct a substantial amount of work in advance of the Court hearing. A typical case of this nature would involve between 4 and 8 hours work in advance of the hearing itself – and so we will need to discuss with you the fees that would be payable on a case by case basis for this sort of work.