Our Fees
96% of clients reviewing our firm rated us as ‘excellent value’.
How We Charge
We understand that that there are many different legal needs and one way of charging fees doesn’t fit all. We have therefore developed a range of fee structures to suit a variety of circumstances. Transparency of fees is important to you and us. Below are the different options available to you.
Initial Consultation
The starting point for most clients is to speak with Alexandra Tribe or one of the partners of the firm who will offer some initial guidance and recommend which lawyer in our team is most suitable for your case. You will then be contacted by a legal assistant who will arrange your initial consultation with a lawyer. This consultation is charged at one hour of a lawyer’s time (ranging from £180 to £500 depending on seniority). As a guide, trainee solicitors are charged at £200, junior solicitors between £220 to £275, senior associate solicitors at £300 or £320, and partners and senior consultants at £360 to £500.
Hourly Rate
This option is the most common. Our lawyers make detailed record of each item of work within a six-minute unit. You receive a fully itemised breakdown of the work undertaken in six-minute increments along with your invoice.
The hourly rates vary from £180 per hour for a paralegal to £500 per hour for the most senior lawyer.
On most cases, our lawyers will co-work so that you have a small team working on your case. By co-working on cases, this allows for the legal costs to be kept to a minimum. Junior members of the team undertake more basic tasks on your case at a lower rate or for no charge, such as taking clear notes in meetings. Also, having more than one point of contact in our firm ensures that you can always reach us when you need to, and are fully supported.
If you appoint us following your initial consultation, we will agree on the level of legal work and periodically ask you to provide funds on account until the conclusion of your case. The level of funds on account will depend on the volume of work to be undertaken, and usually covers an agreed scope of work. We keep you informed on fees and billing throughout and when the funds on account are used.
Fixed Fees
We may offer fixed fees, for example, for an agreed divorce, or uncontested divorce, where both parties agree to divorce. We currently charge £2,000 plus VAT for an uncontested divorce, plus the court fee.
We can offer fixed fees for other types of work, too, for example, the drafting of agreements. Speak to our lawyers to find out whether a fixed fee is suitable to your case.
Act in Person with our Legal Assistance
You may wish to represent yourself, also known as ‘act in person’, and conduct the majority of legal work yourself. You can ‘dip in and out’ of legal help and use us for background advice as and when you need support. For this type of ad-hoc legal assistance, we would usually ask you to provide fees on account for two hours of advice.
Value Added Tax
Value added tax, or VAT, may be added to certain services we provide.
Get in Touch
For further information on how to pay your legal fees, please contact one of our solicitors who can advise you carefully of your options and guide you through each process.
We will identify the most appropriate course of action based on your circumstances. In an initial free chat, a senior lawyer will listen to your situation and assess if we’re able to help. The next steps will then be carefully explained; if we’re able to help, the first step would be to have a consultation with one of our experienced lawyers who will work with you on a strategy for a best outcome and explain the costs involved. The volume of work and fees would be discussed at this meeting, so you have all the information you need to make an informed decision.