All firms of Solicitors are now required by the Consumer Markets Authority to publish the price they charge for the work they undertake. In addition, they must give information as to the experience and qualifications of the staff who will undertake the work.
You will find details of the qualifications and experience of each Fee Earner under their individual resume which can be found in the PEOPLE section of our website. Below you will find a guide to the prices we charge. However it is important to understand that this can only be a guide as before prices can be confirmed before we act, both parties must have a full understanding of the scope of the work to be undertaken, the level of client care and service provided, the seniority and experience of the Fee Earner undertaking that work and the complexity or difficulty of the transaction.
We at Black Norman Solicitors Limited pride ourselves in the quality of service provided, the level of staff engaged on your work and the accessibility and availability of our staff to assist you even if outside normal office hours.
Whilst all firms will be publishing their prices, not all firms will offer similar levels of service or quality of work. Price is only one if many factors you should consider before choosing your legal adviser.
We charge for the work we undertake in 3 different ways. The actual basis selected for any particular type of work will depend on the type of work and also in some cases by your choice. The choices are:
Fixed Fee, Hourly Rate and what is commonly referred to as “No Win, No Fee”
Most of our standard Residential Conveyancing is charged on a Fixed fee basis rather than on an Hourly Rate Basis.
Residential Conveyancing Fixed Fees – Click to view
Private Client Fees:
All prices are typical and exclusive of both VAT and disbursements (where applicable)
Wills etc
Codicil around £175 – £200
Simple Will £250
Simple Mirror Wills £400 (for the pair)
More complex Wills £ 400 – £900 (typical range and depending on complexity / type of trust)
In some cases, instructions will be such that will inevitably fall outside these parameters for example
where the document is required as a matter of urgency, travel is required, where there is an
international element or where medical opinions need to be sought.
Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs)
We charge £200 for making a single LPA
Additional charges apply where you ask us to attend to Registration of your LPA(s) with the Office of
the Public Guardian
Estate Administrations (complete)
We charge at the relevant lawyer’s hourly rate.
Obtaining Grants of Probate (only)
(Simple estates) £975
For Grants in more complex estates especially where there is a requirement to complete Form
IHT400 please refer to one of our private client lawyers.
We are happy to arrange visits away from the office (additional fees may apply):
• to your home;
• place of work; or
• hospital
• We also welcome referrals from Care homes and care agencies.
Commercial Landlord & Tenant: Whilst the majority of this work is charged on a Fixed fee basis, due to the variables in terms, as well as complexity and risk and value, it is not possible to have a standard set of charges. The Fixed Fee can only be assessed and agreed once full details of the instructions are fully understood. We invite you to contact our Commercial Property Department for an indicative cost.
Hourly Rate Charges – Click to view.
Other than where detailed above, all other work is charged on an Hourly basis.
Whilst nothing is ever certain or guaranteed, with some Litigation matters, there are many occasions where your prospects of success are good enough to enable us to share in your risk of running a successful claim. In these circumstances, if your claim is successful, we would recover our fees through a combination of a Fixed Fee as determined by the Court, plus a percentage of your damages. At the outset, you have the option to take out an insurance policy which would pay the other side’s costs plus disbursements in the event that your claim was unsuccessful.
Debt Recovery
We deal with all aspects of debt recovery in our commercial litigation department ranging from the recovery of small debts to obtaining a recovery of significant sums of debt owed.
Our fees are charged at the following hourly rates:
Senior Solicitor – £250 (plus VAT)
Paralegal / Trainee Solicitor £135 (plus VAT).
The amount of costs that you will pay are entirely dependent upon whether or not the debt is disputed by your opponent. We will provide you with a full breakdown of our costs at the outset of the matter to enable you to make an informed choice about what it will cost to pursue the debt. We may agree a fixed fee with you for certain stages of the work for example, the preparation of a Letter of Claim.
In certain circumstances, we may agree to act for you on a Discounted Conditional Fee Agreement. However, this is assessed on a case by case basis and is entirely dependent upon the prospects of obtaining a recovery from your opponent.
For a disputed debt claim with a value of up to £100,000, our fees include the following work
| Description |
| A review of the papers, advising you and preparing a Letter of Claim
|
| Dealing with any response to the claim received from the Defendant and negotiating a settlement
|
| Issuing proceedings (instructing Counsel to prepare papers for Court and liaising with you further following the production of the papers) |
| Dealing with Court Directions, the Defence and advising you. |
| Instructing Counsel to prepare a Reply to Defence and Defence to Counterclaim |
| Preparing documents for Cost and Case Management Conference (“CCMC”) and attendance at the CCMC This is an initial hearing before the Court who will order Directions to manage the claim to trial and set down a timetable for when certain actions have to be completed by the parties Includes:- Preparation of all documents to be referred to during the CCMC within a bundle which has to be agreed with the Defendant and attendance at the CCMC by telephone |
| Disclosure Includes; preparation of all documents in client’s possession which are to be disclosed to the Defendant and considering any documents disclosed by the Defendant. |
| Witness evidence Includes: preparing all witness statements and considering the contents of the Defendant’s witness evidence and advising in relation to that |
| Pre-Trial Review This is a second hearing before the Court which will last around an hour and it is for the Court to ensure that all of the proceeding Directions have been complied and the matter is ready to proceed on the listed trial date.
Includes: the preparation of documents required by the Court such as hearing bundle, case summary, chronology and any further requests for Directions |
| Preparation of Trial Bundle Includes; the preparation of all documents to be used within the trial bundle, liaising with the Defendant to agree the bundle and including any additional documentation that is required, pagination and production of the bundle in the court compliant format and filing and serving the same. |
| Instructing Counsel to attend trial which includes our costs for instructing Counsel to attend trial to make all of the necessary representations and attending a conference with Counsel
|
| Our attendance at trial with Counsel (the first day of trial)
|
It is important to note that our fees are subject to VAT and you cannot recover the VAT from your opponent.
It may be necessary to pursue enforcement action against your opponent if they refuse to pay the Judgment sum awarded to you such as the instruction of bailiffs, insolvency proceedings or obtaining a charging order against property. If this is the case, we will provide you with a breakdown of all costs associated with that further work.
