Our Private Client Fees
We have a duty to explore your eligibility for legal aid funding. However, some cases such as simple motoring offences do not attract legal aid and some people because of their means are not eligible for legal aid. Alternatively, you may wish to fund your defence privately whether you are eligible for legal aid or not.
In accordance with the SRA Transparency Rules, we now provide the following general information regarding our private client fees and specific information concerning any fixed fee quote for a motoring offence to be met by a guilty plea.
Private client fees
In the event that you are not eligible for legal aid we will be happy to represent you as a private client based on the below Schedule of Charges. We would estimate that the costs would be in the region of, £1000 to £5000, plus VAT subject to the nature of your case.
At the outset, we will require an initial payment on account of £1,000 plus VAT (£1,200) unless otherwise agreed with you. We are afraid that we no longer routinely receive cash payments but will assist you to pay by card or bank transfer. Please contact us should you need any help.
Should you be found Not Guilty at the conclusion of proceedings or the proceedings are discontinued against you, we can apply to the Court for a Defendant’s Costs Order (DCO) and when received, will seek re-imbursement of your legal costs from an organization called the National Taxing Team (NTT) out of Central Funds. However Schedule 7 to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act now provides that all cases that commence in the Magistrates’ Court or are committed or transferred to the Crown Court for trial on or after 1st October 2012 will see DCO limited.
These limitations are as follows:
This means that you are likely to only recover approximately 25% of your costs.
We preserve the right to bill private fees on an interim bill basis where for any reason whatsoever your case is of a prolonged nature. Please note again that we shall exercise our right to retain papers relating to your matter while our fees remain unpaid and that for assisting you in recovering any legal costs, there may be an additional charge of £50 plus VAT.
Schedule of Charges
All charges are exclusive of VAT.
Hourly rates
This rate applies to interviews, time spent in consideration of documents sent to us, preparation of documents by us, appearance at Court, travelling and waiting times spent in connection with your case. Different rates apply dependent upon the experience and both the level of qualification and position of the relevant fee earner:
(A) £261.00 (Director or Solicitor Advocate)
(B) £218.00 (Senior Solicitor/Executive)
(C) £178.00 (Solicitor)
(D) £126.00 (Trainee/Paralegal)
Fixed Fees – Guilty Pleas
Where possible we will quote a fixed fee for Magistrates’ Court work and for Guilty Pleas our minimum fee will be £1,000.00 plus VAT (£1,200).
That fee will be greater if the proceedings are to take place out of the area. The cost of travel, disbursements and expert or medical reports will be additional.
For specific information concerning any fixed fee quote for a motoring offence to be met by a guilty plea, please see below.
Not Guilty Pleas
We will quote an estimated fee for Magistrates’ Court work based upon the hourly rates quoted above. However, the fee quoted may be subject to change depending on the length and complexity of the proceedings. The cost of expert or medical reports will be additional. You will be consulted before any increase to the fee is made.
We also reserve the right to charge an uplift at the conclusion of the proceedings on preparation, attendance and advocacy if particular care, expedition or due diligence is evident.
Additional Costs
Telephone Calls – each telephone call made or received lasting up to six minutes:
Longer calls charged on a time recording basis.
Letters and E-mails – each letter or e-mail written by us where the time spent is up to six minutes:
Longer letters or e-mails charged on a time recording basis.
Letters received:
Photocopies & Disbursements
Any bill that we render to you, you have the right to object to that bill and apply for the assessment of that bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act.
Fixed fee quote – motoring offence (Guilty plea)
The minimum fee of £1,000 plus VAT (£1,200) will include:
The fee does not include:
The key stages of your matter are based on the presumption that you have or will enter a guilty plea and have a date for your hearing. They are:
The qualifications of our current fee earners are:
Directors
Mark Jerman mj@jsp.legal Solicitor
Simon Samuels ss@jsp.legal Solicitor
Ian Clift ic@jsp.legal Solicitor Advocate
Carly Denniss cd@jsp.legal Solicitor Advocate
Associate Directors
Carly Pharoah cp@jsp.legal Solicitor
Ciara Mathews cm@jsp.legal Solicitor
Amie Harris ah@jsp.legal Solicitor
Zoe Hyland zh@jsp.legal Solicitor
Senior Solicitors
Rachael Gray rg@jsp.legal Solicitor Advocate
Solicitors
Fatimah Dhorowa fd@jsp.legal Solicitor
George Dixon gd@jsp.legal Solicitor
Samantha Harris sh@jsp.legal Solicitor
Trainee Solicitors
Aqsa Farooq af@jsp.legal Trainee Solicitor
Chloe Goodey clg@jsp.legal Trainee Solicitor
Alex Barltrop ab@jsp.legal Trainee Solicitor
Paralegals
Elisha Turner et@jsp.legal Paralegal/Accredited Rep
Jodi Spence js@jsp.legal Paralegal/Accredited Rep
Natalia Zuraw nz@jsp.legal Paralegal/Probationary Rep
Kim Edgley kme@jsp.legal Paralegal/Probationary Rep
Tavia Johnson tj@jsp.legal Paralegal/Probationary Rep
Alexandra Tahsin at@jsp.legal Paralegal
In terms of supervision:
We have no standing terms for regular clients.
For expert advice on this service please get in touch with us.
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