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Our Pricing
If you haven’t used a solicitor before then you probably have a few burning questions about how we work before you pick up the phone. An obvious one is ‘how much do you charge?’
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Due to the complexity of some matters, this isn’t always an easy one to answer at the outset as there are often many factors which need to be taken into account. However, we have been helping the people of Sussex for over 150 years so we have plenty of experience and are able to give you an indication of what we charge. Click on the relevant teams below for more information on what we charge.
Understanding our pricing and how to get in touch
We’re here with some helpful information on how our pricing works that will give clarity as well as peace-of mind when it comes to making your decision. If you have any questions on our pricing, you can reach out to us by contacting the relevant team direct or calling us on 0800 84 94 101.
Charges for Identity and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks
We are required under the UK Money Laundering Regulations to carry out client due diligence for all new clients and matters, and, where appropriate for existing clients from time to time. These checks help protect you, us, and the wider financial system from fraud and financial crime. The checks we carry out include:
- Identity and verification checks – completed electronically via our trusted external provider or manually, by means of certified ID documents;
- Screening checks – covering politically exposed persons (PEPs), sanctions, and adverse media searches, carried out electronically through our external provider; and
- Source of funds and source of wealth checks – performed electronically where possible or manually, if further information or review is required.
We charge additional fees for these checks to cover the costs of the systems and processes we use. The fees charged are for each person / organisation and for each new matter and are set out in our Pricing Proposal that is sent out at the beginning of each matter.
For some people buying and selling a house is one of the few times you will need to use a law firm and it is something we do for clients hundreds of times a month. We are really, really good at it.
Here’s an example of our usual fee for buying a £200,000 freehold property (not a new build and assuming that you have the funds in place to pay for it): £1000 +vat.
This is of course just an example and if you want to know what our fees would be for your specific needs you can give us a call or use our online calculator which gives you an instant quote.
When buying a house there are some other costs to take into consideration and these can include payments to third parties that we make on your behalf (we call them disbursements) and other fees.
- Client On-boarding fee: £60 (inc. VAT)
- Standard Risk Matter opening fee: £60 (inc. VAT)
- High Risk Matter opening fee: £300 (inc. VAT)
- Telegraphic Transfer fee: £36.00
- Lawyer check: £15.00
- Search fees: £500.00
- Land Registry Searches: £3.00
- Bankruptcy searches (per person): £6.00
- Land registration fee: From £100
- Stamp duty: Click here for the SDLT fee calculator
We’ve put together a handful of FAQs, which you can find here.
We understand how difficult and emotional it is to deal with the paperwork after losing a loved one and that probate laws can be confusing and bewildering.
We have a really friendly team of highly experienced probate specialists that can help guide you through the probate process.
There are likely to be disbursements in full administration to be aware of, we will always discuss these with you in advance. These could include, but are not limited to:
- Statutory notices – approximately £200
- Valuation fees, for property, contents and some investments – approximately £100-200 each
- Bankruptcy search fees – £10 plus VAT per name searched
Find out more about our probate services by contacting us today.
The following illustrates our approach to handling claims of unfair and wrongful dismissal in the Employment Tribunal where such claims are not connected with issues such as discrimination, whistleblowing or asserting a statutory right.
Typical legal costs
Not all the costs mentioned below will necessarily be incurred if it is possible to settle your case and a large number of cases do settle without making it to a Tribunal Hearing.
In our experience, the cost of advising and representing an employee in a straightforward claim addressing only wrongful dismissal, up to the point immediately before a Tribunal Hearing commences, will be in a range from £5,400 to £8,700 (excluding VAT).
In our experience, the cost of advising and representing an employee, in a straightforward claim addressing only unfair dismissal, up to the point immediately before a Tribunal Hearing commences, will be in a range from £8,650 to £11,900 (excluding VAT).
These typical costs are based on hourly rates of £180–£320 per hour (excluding VAT).
Our fees could be higher than stated above if the case is a complex one. Factors that could make a case complex and increase costs include, but are not limited to:
- Claiming against an unrepresented employer
- Consideration of a complex element of law
- Dealing with an extensive amount of documentation
- Drafting statements for and/or dealing with a large number of witnesses
- A need to make amendments to a claim or to provide further information about the claim
- A need to seek further information about a defence to a claim
- A need to address preliminary issues
- A need to make or defend a costs application
- Defending a claim for automatic unfair dismissal in connection with a transfer of an undertaking
In such circumstances, we will keep you fully up to date on fees and revise our estimates, as the case progresses.
On average, each day for attending a Tribunal Hearing will cost between £1,650 and £2,500 per day (excluding VAT).
Generally, you should expect a typical Tribunal Hearing to take one to three days, depending on the complexity of your case though very complex cases can be longer.
Key stages
The fee structure set out above covers all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim and applies to work after the pre-claim conciliation period has been concluded:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on the merits of your claim (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change)
- Preparing and submitting the claim form
- Preparing a schedule of loss which indicates the value of your claim
- Reviewing the response to the claim from your employer
- Exchanging documents with the employer and agreeing the contents for the bundle of documents to be used at the Tribunal Hearing
- Interviews for witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses
- Reviewing and advising on the employer’s witness statements
- Agreeing a list of issues
- Preparation for a Tribunal Hearing
- Instructing a barrister, if they are to be engaged
- Advising on and exploring and negotiating settlement throughout the process
This does not include the cost of preparing the bundle of documents to be used at the Tribunal Hearing as this is usually a task given to the employer. Neither does it include applying for a Tribunal Hearing of more than one day in length, the preparation of a chronology, skeleton arguments or a list of the key people who feature in the case.
Timeframe
The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your claim depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved and how soon the Employment Tribunal can schedule a Tribunal Hearing. Currently, the Employment Tribunal can schedule a Tribunal Hearing for a date between six to nine months from when a claim is submitted.
The initial date for listing will be provided once your claim has been acknowledged as received by the Employment Tribunal. This initial date will usually assume that the Tribunal Hearing will only take one day. If the Tribunal Hearing will take more than one day then the timeframe is likely to increase.
Issues relating to the handling of all claims
Alternatives
You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can be arranged according to your individual needs with the costs tailored accordingly.
Expenses
These will be referred to as disbursements and are the costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties.
There are currently no fees payable in the Employment Tribunal but costs for such things as travel expenses and fees for expert witnesses may be incurred. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process and will inform you if VAT is payable or not.
Normally we will present your case at a Tribunal Hearing but in very complex cases it may be that, after consulting with you, a barrister (also known as counsel) is engaged to do this. Counsel fees will be regarded as a disbursement with the costs of counsel dependent on the complexity of the case.
The following illustrates our approach to defending claims of unfair and wrongful dismissal in the Employment Tribunal where such claims are not connected with issues such as discrimination, whistleblowing or asserting a statutory right.
Typical legal costs
Not all the costs mentioned below will necessarily be incurred if it is possible to settle your case and a large number of cases do settle without making it to a Tribunal Hearing.
In our experience, the cost of advising and representing an employer in defending a straightforward claim addressing only wrongful dismissal, up to the point immediately before a Tribunal Hearing commences, will be in a range from £5,400 to £9,800 (excluding VAT).
In our experience, the cost of advising and representing an employer, in defending a straightforward claim addressing only unfair dismissal, up to the point immediately before a Tribunal Hearing commences, will be in a range from £8,650 to £13,000 (excluding VAT).
These typical costs are based on hourly rates of £180–£320 per hour (excluding VAT).
Our fees could be higher than stated above if the case is a complex one. Factors that could make a case complex and increase costs include, but are not limited to:
- Defending a claim by an unrepresented employee
- Consideration of a complex element of law
- Dealing with an extensive amount of documentation
- Drafting statements for and/or dealing with a large number of witnesses
- A need to seek further information about a claim
- A need to make amendments to a response to a claim
- A need to address preliminary issues
- A need to make or defend a costs application
- Defending a claim for automatic unfair dismissal in connection with a transfer of an undertaking
In such circumstances, we will keep you fully up to date on fees and revise our estimates, as the case progresses.
On average, each day for attending a Tribunal Hearing will cost be between £1,650 and £2,500 per day (excluding VAT).
Generally, you should expect a typical Tribunal Hearing to take one to three days, depending on the complexity of your case. Some complex cases can be longer.
Issues relating to the handling of all claims
Alternatives
You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can be arranged according to your individual needs with the costs tailored accordingly.
Expenses
These will be referred to as disbursements and are the costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties.
There are currently no fees payable in the Employment Tribunal but costs for such things as travel expenses and fees for expert witnesses may be incurred. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process and will inform you if VAT is payable or not.
Normally we will present your case at a Tribunal Hearing but in very complex cases it may be that, after consulting with you, a barrister (also known as counsel) is engaged to do this. Counsel fees will be regarded as a disbursement with the costs of counsel dependent on the complexity of the case.
