How much will you charge me?How much will you charge me?
One of the most important questions any client has is "What will it cost me?"
One of the most difficult things to get any lawyer to do is to explain their charges. [Ring several firms, ask all of them what they charge and see how many give you a straight answer!]
We have decided that the only fair way for us to charge clients for non-quoted work is to make the charge directly relevant to the amount of time spent on processing their transaction, adjusting the hourly charge-rate depending on the skill and expertise of our staff involved.
The highest rates of charge are made by the Partners. Like all other fee-earners, their current hourly charge-out rates are quoted at the outset of every matter in a client care letter which sets out certain information we are required to give our clients by virtue of our regulatory body, the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The charges for partner's time reflects their greater experience, and / or specialist skill and knowledge in the areas of the Law upon which they advise.
Our employed solicitors are charged-out at slightly lower rates but we pride ourselves on dedication and expertise of our solicitor staff and they also bring highly specialised skills to bear.
Wherever possible we select appropriate members of our staff having the required competence to process your transaction efficiently, accurately and well whilst ensuring that the charge rates applicable to each part of your transaction are kept as low as possible. If only part of your transaction requires the attention of a Partner then you will only pay the Partner's charge-out rates for that part of the transaction. Our time records specify who has done what and the differential rates which apply depending upon which Partner, solicitor or other fee-earner carries out the work for you. This may mean that some of the work in your transaction may be carried out by someone you do not know. Please rest assured the person notified to you as having overall care and control of the work will remain your first point of contact and will coordinate any other staff we may feel should be involved in order to successfully conclude your matter.
Why are lawyers so expensive?
The simple answer is its all yours, the client's, fault! Unlike other service industries lawyers have to "guarantee" their services for extremely long periods of time and they deal with matters having substantial price tags. If your new car seizes-up ten thousand miles after you bought it, you pick up the bills. On the other hand, if, many years after you move house, your conveyancing turns out to have been done badly, the lawyer who carried it out for you remains responsible and the costs of fixing any problem can easily run into hundreds or even thousands of pounds. Clients are more and more inclined to sue their lawyers when things go wrong, even where, at the time when the work was carried out, neither they nor their lawyer could reasonably have been expected to anticipate the problem, and, as a result, the costs of our indemnity insurance policies are astronomical.
Doctors kill you, lawyers only trash your paperwork!
Consider that, typically, a doctor will pay in the region of one to two thousand pounds annually for their professional indemnity insurance premium. This will cover them for such trifling liabilities as inadvertently killing you through negligent treatment! The equivalent lawyer's premium will often exceed forty thousand pounds, and usually provides the lawyer with less financial cover against any mistake or error he makes or which the client may think he has made.
