Our Pricing
All prices exclude VAT – currently 20% – which must be added to all fees. Please click on the links below to find out information concerning our pricing for your chosen area of law:
Employment Law
Fees
Straightforward case | £5,000 to £12,000 |
Medium complexity case | £8,000 to £16,000 |
Complex case | £15,000 to £30,000 |
Our fees are based on an hourly rate of £215 per hour.
Factors which determine your fee
The complexity of your case will be determined by factors such as:
- The type of claim eg unfair dismissal, discrimination, deduction of wages
- The number of witnesses from whom we have to take statements
- The volume of documents we have to read
- In disability discrimination cases, whether you are disabled within the meaning of the legislation (if this is not agreed by the parties)
- If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim
- If your case is an automatic unfair dismissal case eg whistleblowing
There may be additional charges:
- Attending a mediation lasting one day will be £2,500 inclusive of preparation and attendance
- Attending the final hearing of £1,500 per day. This is not always necessary, as you will be represented by a barrister. But if you would like us to attend, then please note that, depending on the type and complexity of your case, the hearing may last one to five days.
- If a hearing is adjourned shortly before it is due to start ie within two weeks, you may nonetheless incur barrister’s charges for the hearing if they have started to prepare for it.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs on your case payable to third parties, such as court fees. Barrister’s fees are between £750 to £2,500 per day (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending hearing. Conferences and obtain advise from a barrister is based on her/his hourly rate: we will obtain a quote for you before proceeding.
Key stages
The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a case:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on your chances of success and likely compensation
- Conciliation with ACAS – this is compulsory and occurs before you start your case in the tribunal. The object is to explore whether a settlement is possible
- Drafting your claim or defence
- Reviewing and advising on the defence or – if acting for an employer – the claim
- Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing
- Disclosure of documents ie exchanging documents with the other party
- Drafting and preparation of witness statements
- Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements
- Negotiating settlement (which can occur at any stage)
- Preparing a schedule of loss
- Advising on the other party’s counter-schedule (setting out their response to your schedule)
- Preparing and agreeing a bundle of documents for use at Final Hearing
- Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology
- Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including brief to barrister
How long will your case take?
The time your case takes to conclude depends on its complexity and the approach of your opponent. If a settlement is reached during conciliation with ACAS, it is likely to four to six weeks. On a worst-case scenario it goes to a Final hearing, your case is likely to take 10 – 20 months. If the tribunal decides liability first then requires a second hearing to determine compensation (called a Remedy Hearing), a further six months could be necessary. The courts and tribunals are hugely underfunded at present and we are finding that the waiting time for hearings is growing. Furthermore, a majority of cases are adjourned because there are insufficient judges available. This will extend the length of your case.
Wills and Probate
Wills
Wills take many shapes and sizes depending on your needs and the complexity of your estate and your wishes. All Wills are prepared on a fixed price basis and include: discussing your wishes, providing initial advice on inheritance tax, preparing the Will, minor amendments if needed for more complex Wills and ensuring that the Wills are properly executed and stored. Simple Wills are usually arranged by phone, email or Skype/ Zoom, all others by a home visit.
A simple Will for a single person leaving your estate to up to 8 named beneficiaries | £245-£350 |
Simple ‘mirror’ Wills for couples leaving your estates up to 8 people | £295 |
More complex Wills for a single person containing a bespoke trust (sometimes used for inheritance tax planning or to protect disabled or vulnerable family members) | £425-£480 |
More complex Wills for couples with children from different relationships, couples wanting to leave their estates in trust for their spouse, older people wishing to protect their estates from care home fees, inheritance tax planning Wills for unmarried couples and those who have been widowed/widowered more than once, Wills containing small businesses | £745-£840 per couple |
Wills including tax planning for leaving a large business in your Will for a couple | £1,145 |
Additional services, if needed | |
Letters of wishes to accompany complex Wills | £65 |
Severance of ownership to tenants in common, if needed for inheritance tax planning | £145 |
Additional fee for home visits for simple Wills (visits are included in complex Wills’ fee) | To be agreed |
Probate
Executors Grant Only Service with HMRC Return – we prepare the application for the Grant of Probate and documents needed for HMRC where you provide the valuations | £1,450 * |
Executors Grant Only Service with HMRC Account – as above but with a full HMRC account (usually when inheritance tax is to be paid) | £3,250 * |
Fixed Fee Full Administration Service – we deal with obtaining the Grant and distributing the estate. This is appropriate where you are not familiar with the probate process of the estate, you do not have time to devote to administering the estate, a full inheritance tax return is needed, or where you are not going to inheritance a large part of the estate | 1% – 3% of the value of the estate with a minimum fee of £4,250 * |
There are some estates where the fees above may be more. These include estates:
- Where a claim is needed to transfer the inheritance tax allowance of a late spouse – this adds approximately £350 plus VAT to the Grant Only Services
- With significant assets abroad
- Which include business assets or farms
- With more than 10 separate holding of shares or similar assets
- With an actual or potential claim against the estate
* There may be some estates where the above will be lower. This is where the estate is very simple, maybe just a property and/or a few bank accounts. In the alternative to a fixed fee, you can opt to pay fees based on the hourly rate of the consultant concerned. Our most senior consultant’s hourly rate is £240 (as with all figures quoted, plus VAT) You will also need to budget for a probate fee from £165, land registry fees (£40-£120) if you are transferring property, valuations (e.g. for property, valuable antiques or large jewellery collections), tax returns to wind up income tax matters with HMRC, property sale costs, house clearance etc. We can advise on these when we prepare a quote for you and can link you to agents to help you.
Powers of Attorney
Lasting Powers of Attorney full service including acting as a certificate provider and registering the powers ready for use – for whose circumstances are unlikely to change | £395-480 for one, £450-£660 for two, £695-£840 for four (two each for a couple) |
A fee of £82 is payable to the Office of the Public Guardian for the registration of each Lasting Power of Attorney in addition to the fees above. If you are in receipt of certain benefits or have a low income, then these fees are reduced or waived. Just let me know if this applies. There is a 50% discount available if your annual income is less than £12,000 or a full exemption if you are in receipt of some means tested benefits such as ESA. As Lasting Powers of Attorney must be registered before they can be used (which can take up to three months), and given they may be needed urgently eg such as in the case of a stroke or a car accident, we recommend registering Lasting Powers of Attorney as soon as they have been made.
Court of Protection applications
Application to be a Deputy to manage the financial affairs of someone who has lost mental capacity and does not have a Lasting Power of Attorney | £1,300 |
Other Court of Protection applications | £1,500 upwards |
There is a Court application fee of £365 for all applications in addition to the fees above.
Statutory will declaration | at hourly rates |
Applying for order authorising gifts by Deputies or Attorneys | at hourly rates |
This includes the initial advice to determine the correct type of trust for your needs, the preparation of the Trust Deed, advice as the meaning and effect of the trust, execution of the documents and advice as to the requirements to register with trust with HM Revenue & Customs. Unless you are immediately placing assets into the trust, there will also be a £1 disbursement charge for a postage stamp to be attached to the document to complete the constitution of the trust. We can continue to act for you in the management of the trust including acting as a Trustee, registering the trust with HM Revenue & Customs and completing annual Tax Returns. However, the charges for these will be dependent on the complexity of the particular trust.
Other services – a price range is given when it depends on complexity
Declarations of Trust –– these are bespoke legal documents to define property interests – or transfer of property | £375 to £695 |
Loan Agreements among private individuals or family members | £375 to £525 |
Loan Agreements with a charge on a property to secure your loan | £550 to £675 |
Preparing a family trust an advising on how to use it | £850 |
Change of name deed | £150 |
Land
Severance of Joint Tenancy | £96 |
Voluntary First Registration of Title deeds | £420 |
Transfer or Assent of unregistered property | £600 |
Transfer or Assent of registered property | £240 |
There may be Land Registry fees associated with the above that will depend on the type of matter and the value of the property in question. Full details will be provided at the outset of a matter.
Home Visits
We charge 45p per mile travel expenses, or the actual cost of travel eg train fare. These charges can be waived at our discretion.
Conveyancing (buying and selling property)
Factors which determine your fee
will be determined by factors such as:
- Whether freehold or leasehold
- Whether there is a mortgage
- Whether your property is a new-build
- Whether your property is unregistered land
- In purchase cases, whether primary residence, buy to let or second/holiday home
- More than one owner
- An auction purchase
- A shared-ownership scheme
- If a help-to-buy scheme is utilised
- A right-to-buy purchase
How long will your matter take?
The time your transaction takes to complete is influenced by a range of factors include:
- the length of the chain
- the speed that other solicitors in the chain act
- the amount of paperwork to review
- whether a mortgage is involved
- how quickly the other parties in the transaction obtain mortgage offers
Generally, your matter will take as little as four to six weeks or as long as four to six months.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs on your case payable to third parties, such as: Searches Searches ensure you are aware of any issues that could affect your decision to proceed with a purchase and include (but are not limited to):
- Local Authority Search
- Groundsure Planning Search
- Groundsure Homebuyers Environment Search
- Chancel Check indemnity insurance policy
The cost of searches ranges between £275 and £375 which includes our professional fees and administration fees to review searches, advise you of their meaning and make enquiries arising from the searches.
Key stages and what is included in your purchase
- Obtaining information from the seller’s solicitors
- Agreeing the terms of the contract
- Checking that the seller can sell ie good title
- Making enquiries of the seller
- Reporting to you with the Contract for signature.
- Agreeing a completion date, obtaining the deposit and exchanging contracts.
- Post-completion, we will deal with Land Registry formalities and, following registration will provide you with a copy of your title.
What is not included in your purchase
Mortgage The fees above do not include additional work required for acting on behalf of any lender in the registration of a new mortgage. If we are instructed to act for your lender, then our fees for doing so will be your responsibility and range between £150 to £300. Leasehold If the property is leasehold, there will be additional work obtaining information from the landlord/management company, relating to the landlord’s freehold title and regarding the Compliance Certificate relating to leasehold titles (and also to freehold titles subject to service charges). The costs of this additional work will be your responsibility ranges between £150 and £300.
Key stages and what is included in your sale
- Applying to Land Registry for Title Deeds
- Preparing draft contract pack
- Answering the buyer’s solicitors’ enquiries
- Agreeing the contract terms
- Reporting to you on the terms of the contract
- Agreeing a completion date and exchanging contracts
- Arranging to redeem mortgages and third-party charges
- Paying estate agent commission
- Accounting to you for the net sales proceeds
Key stage and what is not included in your purchase
Mortgage The fees above do not include additional work required redeeming your mortgage or other loans secured against your property. If we are instructed to act for your lender, then our fees for doing so will be your responsibility and range between £150 to £300. Leasehold If the property is leasehold, there will additional work involved to obtain up to date service charge information from the freeholder/management company/managing agent. There will usually be a charge by the provider for the information, which ranges between £100 and £300 which will be your responsibility. We will also charge for the additional work in obtaining the information: these charges range between £150 to £300.
Additional Costs Information
Bank Transfers Electronic and manual bank transfers are charged at a maximum of up to £45 for each transfer of funds out and £20 for each transfer of funds in.
For more information about how our legal services work
or for a free no-obligation discussion with one of our solicitors
you can fill in the enquiry form below and we’ll call you back at a time to suit