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We are a leading team of Divorce and Family Solicitors with our specialist divorce solicitors providing expert advice about divorce and separation.
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At Poole Alcock we are committed to providing transparent fee structures from the outset and throughout your case.
For those people who want the burden of administering and distributing their loved ones estate to be taken from their shoulders, Poole Alcock are specialists in estate administration. We will ensure that all tax and death duties are paid, that all of the estate assets are called in and distributed in accordance with your loved one’s wishes.
Our fixed fee is calculated with reference to the gross estate value as follows:
Please note that for small estates where the gross value is below £100,000.00, the fixed fee will be based on a 5% charge.
In addition VAT and Disbursements (third party payments) will apply. Disbursements can include:
You may wish to arrange the adminstration and distribution of your loved one’s estate yourself. In these circumstances we offer a “Grant Only” service where we will carry out all of the necessary legal steps to obtain a Grant of Probate which allows you to deal with the estate. Grant only services start at a fixed fee of £1,500 plus VAT for simple estates.
In addition Disbursements (third party payments) will apply. Disbursements can include:
Probate registry fee – from £155 Statement settling fee – £15
Our Residential Conveyancing Pricing is simple and clear. We have one set fee which covers all legal work in relation to the instructed transaction. We will not add on extra fees throughout the process – if work needs doing to get your matter completed, we will do it for the fee originally quoted. Our fees are truly transparent from the outset.
You can access our online quote generator by clicking this link.
We offer our motoring defence services on an hourly rate or fixed fee basis and will discuss the best option with you. Our hourly rates depend on the seniority of the fee earner involved and are as follows (all costs quoted are exclusive of VAT charged at 20%):
Solicitor, Fellow of Institute of Legal Executives – £300/hr Trainee Solicitors, Paralegals and Executives – £180/hr
We offer the following services on a fixed fee basis. Below, we have set out the likely fixed fee dependent on the nature of the work involved:
Having expert court representation, even if you inted to plead guilty, can mean the difference between keeping your licence or not. Our expert motoring lawyers can offer representation at plea hearing and consultation for a fixed fee of £1,000 plus £200 VAT. Subsequent hearings such as sentencing hearings will be charged at an additional £200 plus £40 VAT per hearing.
Exceptional Hardship and Special Reasons arguments can be complex and require further preparation in order to put the strongest possible case to appeal for you to keep your licence. Our fixed fees for hearings of this nature start at £1,200 plus £240 VAT.
If you are involved in a contested trial in relation to a motoring offence then your fixed fee will start at £1,500 plus £300 VAT for non-complex half-day trials. Full day trials will attract a fixed fee starting at £2,500 plus £500 VAT for non-complex cases.
For trials that last for longer than a day, representation will typically be charged at a fixed fee of £2,000 plus £400 VAT for each additional day and £1,000 plus £200 VAT for each half day.
The fees quoted above represent a minimum due for non-complex matters. Cases which require significant amounts or preparation may attract fixed fees higher than this.
Please note that additional costs such as expert medical or accident reconstruction reports are not included in the above fees. Such costs will be discussed with you and agreed prior to any instruction.
Please note many cases involve more than one court appearance and you will be quoted accordingly for additional representation over and above the first Magistrates Court hearing, on a fixed fee or hourly rate basis. Please also note that the above fees may be increased if there is certain additional travel involved for attending court.
You may be eligible for legal aid, subject to a means test. Get in touch with our team to see if you are eligible for public funding.
We are happy to discuss your case with you over the telephone. Call us today on 01270 256665 or contact us using this form and we will call you back to discuss your case.
Pre-Action:
It is a requirement in nearly all cases to send a Letter of Claim to your debtor so that they know about the debt and, hopefully, with a view to recovering the monies due to you without the need to issue court proceedings. We always recommend this as a first step, as if you fail to do so, you could incur unnecessary cost and the Courts take a very dim view on such action, meaning that you are likely to be penalised in future costs recovery (as may be available to you).
Our Standard Letter of Claim costs include an initial telephone discussion with you to understand the facts, an initial review of the outstanding invoices and any preliminary papers which may be relevant and our Standard Letter of Claim being sent to your debtor.
A more bespoke service for any level of debt, which will include a meeting with you, a full review of all papers, advice to you on your position in writing, discussion on potential tactics regarding initial steps and a bespoke initial letter to the debtor can be undertaken and the costs associated with this service can be discussed with you.
Issued Cases:
If no response is received and Court action is suggested, it is necessary to prepare your Claim Form and Particulars of Claim prior to issuing proceedings at Court. Our Standard Costs include the preparation of these documents utilising our standard precedents, filing at court and serving the claim upon the debtor. In addition to our fees, you will also need to pay the Court Fee.
More complex cases may incur additional fees, for example by use of a barrister to prepare your papers or investigatory enquiries being required of your debtor. Such cases will be discussed on a case by cases basis.
If no response is received to the Claim Form then we will request Default Judgment in all cases Free of Charge.
If the claim is defended, then we will discuss next steps with you, bit in contested matters, your costs will increase. Depending upon the complexity of the matter and the issues involved, you could be looking at legal costs of between £5,000 – £35,000 + 20% VAT + Disbursements such as barristers fees.
We will guide you through each step of the process and offer bespoke advice to each client.
Once Judgment is obtained, we will discuss appropriate next steps regarding appropriate enforcement with you on – this will be different in each case.
We will advise if we feel that the issue of proceedings is inappropriate, for example in the context of affording you the best chance of recovery. Other options are available, such as statutory demands, liquidation options or Alternative forms of Dispute Resolution. If we feel another option is more appropriate we will let you know.
Depending upon whether a response is received to our initial letter, or whether court action is needed, or whether enforcement action is required, the timescales of the matter being resolved are likely to vary greatly. We will aim to send your debtor a Letter of Claim within 5 working days of receiving your instructions and required information from you. We will also aim to send papers to court within 10 working days of receiving your instructions to proceed. Depending upon the complexity of a matter at Court, it could take a number of months to obtain Judgment. If the matter becomes fully contested to a final hearing and enforcement action is required, the matter could take much longer to resolve.
The Team’s standard Hourly Rates range from £150 plus £30 VAT to £300 plus £60 VAT
Hourly rate work is carried out at a rate of £250 plus £50 VAT per hour. Alternatively fixed fee retainers can be agreed with you at the following rates:
STAGE 1:- Initial Advice
Initial Meeting
In order to assess whether there is value in your claim it is important to have an initial face to face meeting.
It is useful to have all of the relevant documents ready for this meeting.
During this meeting your potential case will be considered. If it is deemed that it is not worth pursuing your case you will be informed at this stage.
It is essential that your funding options are considered at the outset. It may be that you have Legal Expenses Insurance (“LEI”) or be a member of a Trade Union. These organisations may agree to cover your case if you meet certain criteria.
In most cases, if you do have cover through LEI or a Trade Union, they will allow Poole Alcock to represent you.
£500.00 plus £100 VAT
STAGE 1.2:- Preparation of Statement
If it is decided that there is a value in you proceeding it is important that a statement is prepared.
The statement will detail the chronology and issues you experienced.
STAGE 2: LEI and Trade Union funding application
This section only applies if you have a relevant LEI policy or are a member of a Trade Union.
The process of dealing with the Insurer or Trade Union isn’t always straight forward. The table below represents the costs for handling this process. In order to stand the best chance of your Insurer covering your case it is important that the case is properly explained to the decision maker at the Insurance company or Trade Union.
Please note:- Employment Tribunal Proceedings have very strict time limits. It may be that your case has to be issued before a decision has been made by the Insurer or Trade Union. In these cases the Insurer is unlikely to refund any of the fees incurred before they make a decision.
Instructing a Barrister to prepare “Advice on Prospects”
£350 plus £70 VAT
STAGE 3: Settlement Negotiations
If you do not have LEI or a Trade Union covering your fees the next stage is to explore whether the Employer will consider agreeing a financial settlement with you. If negotiations are successful a Settlement Agreement would be prepared (at no additional charge).
The following stages apply:-
Without Prejudice Letter
This is a letter which is sent to your Employer before ACAS early conciliation. The objective is to describe your case and to seek a compensation payment. If this is not successful the next stage is to proceed to Early Conciliation.
Early Conciliation ACAS
Before proceedings can be issued in the Employment Tribunals you must comply with Early Conciliation. This involves submitting an “Early Conciliation Notification”, speaking with ACAS and then seeking to negotiate. If this is not successful the next stage is to consider issuing the claim at the Employment Tribunal.
£1000.00 plus £200 VAT
STAGE 4: Issuing an Employment Tribunal Claim
If the Employer does not wish to consider a financial settlement and you wish to continue with the dispute the next stage is to issue an Employment Tribunal claim. (“ET1”).
Preparation of ET1 claim form
The “ET1” is the document which sets out the details of your claim against the Employer. It is important that the claims is properly argued and includes all relevant details.
It is preferential to have a meeting and work on this document face to face. However arrangements can also be made to deal with this on the phone or via email.
Review of ET3 Response
The “ET3” is the formal response to your claim. It is always useful to spend time going through the response to see if there any issues which need to be addressed at an early stage.
£250.00 plus £50 VAT
STAGE 5:- Employment Tribunal Preliminary Hearings
The purpose of Preliminary Hearings is for the Tribunal to decide upon a timetable for the various activities leading up to a Trial.
Not all cases require a preliminary hearing or case management hearings and it may be that the Tribunal proceeds immediately to Stage 6.
Preparation for Preliminary Hearing
This would involve preparing an Agenda for the hearing which itemises the issues to be considered and what evidence will be relied upon.
Barrister’s Attendance fees
£350.00 plus £70 VAT
In some cases the Tribunal may agree for the hearing to be dealt with over the phone in order to save time and costs. However, this is a decision for the Tribunal and in many cases the Tribunal judge prefers the parties to attend in person.
Additional Case Management Hearings
Usually there will be no need for additional hearings before the Trial, however, this can happen if there are applications made by either side. Fees would be quoted at the time.
£300 plus £60 VAT
STAGE 6:- Employment Tribunal Directions
“Directions” are a list of activities which parties in an Employment Tribunal must carry out before a Trial. A failure to complete the activity by the set date may result in the claim being dismissed. The Tribunal can set directions on their own initiative or following a preliminary hearing which is mentioned below. These are the most common Directions:-
Preparation of Medical Evidence in relation to disability
In cases in which an Employee is claiming that they have a disability the Tribunal, in most cases, asks for medical proof of the disability at an early stage. We would need to review your medical records and select which documents should be submitted,
Preparation of a Disability Impact Statement
When disability discrimination is claimed, in most cases, the Tribunal orders you to prepare a statement which deals with how your disability affects your daily activities. It is important that this document is prepared in the correct way.
List of Documents
The Tribunal will order that both sides (Employee and Employer) to provide a list of all documents in their possession which are relevant to the case. We would need to meet and go through all of the documentary evidence and submit a list to the Tribunal and the Employer.
Witness Statements
Further work would be required upon your initial statement.
Witness Statements are a very important part of Tribunal proceedings. In the Tribunals you are usually expected to read out your statement and so it must be a very precise account of everything that happened.
It is preferable to meet in person to compile the statement but alternative arrangements can be made.
£750.00 + VAT
(per statement)
Schedule of Loss
In this document we would prepare all of your relevant financial losses. This must be compiled in a specific way.
We would also need to consider “evidence of mitigation”. These are details of attempts that you have made to find another job. It is a requirement that, when able, a Claimant should seek alternative work after being dismissed (or constructive dismissal)
List of Issues
Employment Tribunal judges often order that the parties must prepare a list of the issues to be decided at Tribunal. This is designed to streamline the issues that are being considered in order to save Tribunal time. It is important that this document refers to the correct legal issues.
There is usually no requirement for your involvement in this activity.
Preparation of Trial Bundle
“The Trial Bundle” is the folder of documents which are required for the Trial. There must be sufficient copies for all parties, including the Tribunal panel and the documents must be organised in a specific way.
It is more common for the Employer to be asked to prepare the “Trial Bundle” in which case there will be no cost to you.
The costs have been stated in the event that the Tribunal directs you to prepare the Trial Bundle.
STAGE 7:- Employment Tribunal Final Hearing “Trial”
The length of the Trial will depend upon the number of witnesses, amount of documentation and the complexity of the issues.
Preparation for Trial
It is very important that everything is properly organised and prepared in advance of the Trial. This involves reviewing the information and instructing a Barrister to represent you.
Sometimes a Barrister may decide that they require a meeting with you before the Trial to discuss any issues and review the evidence.
£1,500 plus £300 VAT
Counsel’s fees per day
Hearings listed for a full day £1,250 plus £250 VAT
Hearings listed for 2 days £3,000 plus £600 VAT
Hearings listed for 3 days £3,500 plus £700 VAT
In order to assess the claim made against you it is important to have an initial face to face meeting.
During this meeting the Employee’s case will be considered.
£750.00 plus £150 VAT
The “ET3” is the document which sets out the details of your defence. It is important that the claims are properly defended and all relevant detail included.
Telephone Hearing: £350 plus £70 VAT
In person: £500.00 plus £100 VAT
Witness Statements are a very important part of Tribunal proceedings.
>£750.00 plus £150 VAT
In this document we would respond to the financial claims made by the Employee.
Employment Tribunals often order that the parties must prepare a list of the issues to be decided at Tribunal. This is designed to streamline the issues that are being considered in order to save Tribunal time. It is important that this document refers to the correct legal issues.
It is more common for the Employer to be asked to prepare the “Trial Bundle”.
Hearings listed for a full day: £1,250 plus £250 VAT
Hearings listed for 2 days: £3,000 plus £600 VAT
Hearings listed for 3 days: £3,500 plus £700 VAT
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