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Price

Price

SRA Price Transparency

At Pace Solicitors we take pride in providing transparent and realistic cost estimates. We provide an estimate at the outset of any matter and on request. While the cost of court action can be difficult to estimate our longstanding experience enables us to provide you with a realistic and comprehensive costs estimate. We are always happy to discuss the risks of your matter and agree an amount that we will not exceed without your written agreement.

Our Charges 

 

Our charges are made up of our fees for the legal work and ‘disbursements’. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to other people, such as barrister’s fees. We sometimes handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Where VAT is referred to below please note that this will be charged at the applicable rate, which is currently 20%.

Below we have set out the hourly charging rates for each of our fee earners where we cannot offer a fixed fee:

Partners £250 – £300 plus VAT

Associate Solicitors £200 – £250 plus VAT

Assistant Solicitors £175 – £200 plus VAT

Trainee Solicitors and Senior Caseworkers £125 – £150plus VAT

Caseworkers £100 – £125 plus VAT

 

Motoring Offences

 

Price transparency rules only apply in relation to summary only motoring offences under Part I of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and/or s89 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. For example:

• Driving while disqualified;

• Driving without insurance;

• Careless driving;

• Failing to stop or report; and

• Speeding.

You will be advised and represented by one of the solicitors in the Criminal Litigation Team.  All members of the Team are Solicitors and are Accredited Duty Solicitor Representatives. The work of the department Solicitors is supervised by Mahir Gul.

The average cost of your case is set out below:

• Early guilty plea: £600 plus VAT

• Trial: £1200 plus VAT

The price may vary depending on the circumstances in your case, such as:

• Instruction of any expert witnesses;

• Taking statements from any witnesses;

• Advice and assistance in relation to a special reasons hearing;

• Advice or assistance in relation to any appeal

 

Trial

 

Costs are at a fixed rate set out in our pricing structure. If the case is more complex and proceeds to an appeal then the costs of your case will likely exceed the fixed price range.

Disbursements

 

You will need to pay for ‘disbursements’ in addition to our costs as described above. For example, attendance and representation at a single hearing at the Magistrates Court on the basis that you either plead guilty or, if you plead Not Guilty your case is adjourned to a separate trial date. Instructing expert witnesses, obtaining medical records and reports, witness statements and any advice in relation to an appeal or special reasons hearing. Whilst we cannot provide you with a fixed fee quote, we would be very happy to provide you with a more tailored quote for all stages of your particular case once we know about your specific circumstances.

Key Stages of Your Case

 

The examples of typical costs above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages for Magistrates court traffic work:

• Discussing your circumstances and options throughout the process;

• Giving you advice about the requirements of the Road Traffic Act, Road Traffic Regulation Act and the relevant court procedures.

• If you do not fulfil certain criteria, whether this can be overcome and how;

• Considering the supporting evidence you have provided;

• Providing advice on likely sentence;

• Attend court on the day and meet with you before going before the court;

• Discuss the outcome with you. If advice is required on appeal, this will carry an additional cost.

How Long Will My Case Take?

Most guilty pleas are dealt with on one occasion and will be concluded on that day.

 

Trial cases for summary only motoring offences will usually conclude within 3 months of the first court appearance. Trial cases usually accommodate up to three hearings.

 

Timescales can vary from case to case.

Unfortunately, we cannot provide a timescale of when your hearing will take place, as this depends on the court listing for that day.

Immigration 

There are a number of UK immigration applications that we can assist you with and, wherever possible, we will charge a fixed fee for our work.

On average, an immigration application takes between 4-12 hours to complete. The average cost of your case can be seen in our price structure above, which sets out our hourly rate dependent on the level of solicitor assigned to your case. This means on average costs are between £800 and £3000 (plus VAT). The exact time spent, and fees charged will depend on the circumstances in your case. Such as:

• how straightforward your case is in terms of the law;

• whether it is necessary to appeal;

• the amount of supporting evidence that we need to consider;

• which language(s) you speak;

• whether you are applying with other dependants.

To give you an indication of what are fees are likely to be, we have set out a range below for the more common applications that we can assist you with. Sometimes VAT on immigration fees is not payable but we will advise you whether VAT (at a rate of 20%) is payable when we confirm your instructions.

If you are able to provide enough evidence early on in the case and it is obvious that you meet the legal tests for your immigration application then the cost is likely to be at the lower end of the price range given above. If the case is more complex and proceeds to an appeal then the costs of your case will likely exceed this price range.

 

Application types:

1) Naturalisation or Registration as a British citizen under the British nationality Act 1981

Typical fixed fee costs are between £1000-£3000 depending on the complexity of the case. All figures exclude VAT unless specifically stated.

2) Applications on behalf of European Economic Area (EEA) nationals and their family members under the applicable EEA Regulations or immigration rules, including applications for permanent residence, residence cards, and registration certificates

Typical costs are between £1400-£2500 depending on complexity of the case. All figures exclude VAT unless specifically stated.

Applications under the Immigration Rules:

3) Student and Youth Mobility visas

Typical costs are between £800-£1500 depending on the and complexity of the case. All figures exclude VAT unless specifically stated. Out of country applications do not attract VAT unless made within the EEA.

4) Visit visas

Due to the particular nature of this type of application, i.e. having to demonstrate an intention to leave the UK over and above holding a return flight ticket, typical costs are between £1500-£2000 depending on the and complexity of the case. Visit applications do not attract VAT in most circumstances.

5) Spouse and partner applications, including fiancé(e)s and proposed civil partners

Typical costs are between £1600-£3000 depending on the complexity of the case, for example, whether the financial requirement is met from employment, savings, or self-employment. All figures exclude VAT unless specifically stated. Out of country applications do not attract VAT unless made within the EEA.

6) Dependent relative applications

Under the existing law, these matters are highly complex and are likely to incur a fixed fee of between £2000-£3500 depending on the complexity of the case. All figures exclude VAT unless specifically stated. Out of country applications do not attract VAT unless made within the EEA.

7) Ancestry

Typical costs are between £1600-£2000 depending on the complexity of the case. All figures exclude VAT unless specifically stated. Out of country applications do not attract VAT unless made within the EEA.

8) Long residence

Typical costs are between £1800-£3000 depending on the complexity of the case. All figures exclude VAT unless specifically stated.

 

Disbursements

You will need to pay for ‘disbursements’ in addition to our costs as described above. In an immigration matter the most common disbursements tend to relate to interpreter’s fees. Interpreters are not needed in many cases but if an interpreter is needed the hourly rate charge is normally about £25 per hour. This is in addition to our fees as set out above. It is difficult to estimate what overall interpreter fees would be without knowing about the detail of your case. Please contact us for more information.

In most cases we do not need to instruct a barrister (specialists in attending and arguing at Court) on your behalf. If a barrister is needed then the hourly rate is likely to be in the region of £300 per hour, depending on the experience of the barrister. Immigration applications will normally require between 6-8 hours of the Barrister’s time (if applicable), depending on the complexity of your case.

We do not normally need to incur the cost of preparing a medical report on your behalf, but should this be required we will tell you straight away.

If there is an interview with the immigration authorities and you ask us to attend with you, there will be further disbursements for our travel costs.

The costs quoted here do not include:

• Home Office fees for making the application;

• Advice and assistance in relation to any appeal if your application is refused.

 

Key Stages of Your Case

The examples of typical costs above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages an immigration application:

• Discussing your circumstances and options throughout the process;

• Giving you advice about the requirements of the Immigration Rules and whether you meet the criteria;

• If you do not fulfil certain criteria, whether this can be overcome and how;

• Considering the supporting evidence you have provided;

• Where necessary, helping you obtain further evidence (such as medical records and bank statements), including taking statements of any witnesses;

• Preparing your application and submitting it on your behalf;

• Giving you advice about the outcome of the application and any further steps you need to take.

It would not normally be necessary to undertake other work or incur other costs other than those described above. However, we would be very happy to provide you with a more tailored quote for all stages of your particular case once we know about your specific circumstances.

 

Time Estimate

It is difficult to estimate how long it will take before the Home Office can reach a decision in your matter as this will depend on a case and a caseworker dealing with the application. However, we can only give a rough estimate that most straightforward cases can takes between 3 to 6 months for the Home Office to provide a decision, and complicated cases can take between 3 to 12 months for the Home Office to reach a decision.