Our Fees & Expenses

When you instruct us:

We will give you the best information we can as to the likely costs by:

Agreeing a fee with you; or Providing you with an estimate; or Explaining how our fees are calculated.
Although we will give you the best information we can it is not always possible to predict accurately in advance how much our fees will be as factors such as the complexity of the matter, the value of any money or property involved and the urgency may affect the amount.
You can set a limit on costs incurred without further agreement with you (this is no the same as an agreed fee).Please tell us if you want to do this.

During the course of the matter:

We will tell you how much your costs are at least every 3 months where a matter takes some time and will usually submit interim bills to assist you with your cash flow.
We usually ask for a payment on account or ours costs and/or to cover and disbursements we need to pay our for you.
Where we are asked to give an undertaking (promise by us to pay) for monies to be paid by you, we will ask you to put us in funds for the appropriate amount before so doing.
Where our costs are calculated on a time basis, the time spent includes, in addition to our meetings with and telephone calls and letters to you, for example drafting of documents, research, correspondence with any other parties involved and travelling. We review our hourly rates annually and reserve the right to increase our rates. You will be told if this should happen.
We reserve the right to suspend work or terminate our instructions on a particular matter if our interim bills are unpaid or if we do not receive any monies on account of costs which we have requested from you.
You can ask for details or the costs incurred at any stage.

At the end of the matter:

If any bill does not accord with an estimate or agreement, we will be pleased to explain how it has been worked out. If you are still unhappy after that, we can explain your rights to have the bill reviewed by the Law Society and , in certain cases, the Courts.
Our terms or business are that bills must be paid within 14 days. If this is not done, interest will be charge at the rate which is shown on our bills and in the event will not be less that either per cent per annum. In certain cases, we are entitled to retain papers, deeds and documents until any monies owed to us are paid.
Value Added Tax, all payments out we make on your behalf (disbursements) and a charge for incidental expenses (such as photocopying, telephone calls and the like) may be added to our bills and these payments will be detailed on any accounts we send you.
Our fees are payable whether or not the matter is successfully concluded or completed. If, for any reason the matter is not finalised, we are entitled to charge for the work done to that time.
If it has been agreed that a third party is to pay the costs, we will endeavor to obtain payment from such a party and to secure the position in this regard. However, if, for reasons beyond our control, the third party is unable or unwilling to pay, our costs will be payable by you.
If you anticipate any difficulty whatsoever about paying our fees, please tell us straight away so that we can discuss with you how such difficulties may be overcome.