• Default Judgment – typically our costs will be in the region of between £2,500 - £3,500 + VAT (straightforward facts and legal complexity, including where you successfully bring or defend your case without going to a final hearing) 
• Unfair Dismissal – typically costs in the range of £7,500 - £20,000 (straightforward facts and legal complexity with full one day hearing, but still very much depending on the facts and numbers of witnesses and extent to which the factual matrix and legal arguments are contested and on what basis – see also factors that influence costs below) 
• Constructive Unfair Dismissal – typically costs in the region of between £18,000 - £40,000 (medium complexity) 
• Unfair Dismissal – high complexity up to £60,000 + VAT (high complexity including whistleblowing/public interest disclosure or discrimination) 

• Complexity of facts and extent to which this is disputed 

• Volume and nature of documentation involved and whether there are any issues on what documents the parties have or haven’t disclosed to each other  

• Whether or not the Tribunal lists the matter for a pre-hearing (this is a hearing before the main trial, typically when the Judge decides what legal issues there are and makes directions about what happens next)  

• Numbers of witnesses

• Number of parties involved 

• Numbers of days’ hearing the matter is scheduled for 

• Legal issues arising on if a Claimant is eligible to bring a claim and/or other procedural issues 

• How much the case is worth and legal complexity of the complaint(s) 

Key Stages and typical costs for a relatively straightforward matter

• Prior to claim being sent to the Employment Tribunal (including involving ACAS Early Conciliation) between the range of £750 - £3,500 
• Submitting claim(s) (ET1) to the Employment Tribunal in the region of £1,000 - £3,000 
• Drafting a defence to a claim (ET3 response) in the region of £3,000 
• Preliminary Hearing-estimated range of £1,000 - £3,000 
• Schedule of Loss £750-1500
• Exchanging relevant documents in the case (disclosure) £1500 - £5,000
• Trial Bundle of documents for the Judge to see – £750 - £2,500 (Respondent) 
• Settlement Negotiations and ACAS COT3/settlement terms during proceedings - £1,000 - £5,000 
• Witness Statements £2,500 - £7,500 
• Final Hearing £1,500 to £3,000 plus disbursements (counsel’s fees to be charged in addition) plus additional costs at hourly rates for attendance at Tribunal with Counsel if required.  

Timescales

• Issue claim – up to 3 months
• To preliminary hearing (if required) – up to 5 months 
• To final hearing – 6 months to 2 years. If default judgment – matters will usually take 3-6 months to conclude. 

Likely Disbursements

• Barrister’s fees for Preliminary Hearing - £750 - £3,500*
• Barrister’s fees for Final Hearing - £2,500 - £100,000* (first day), £650 - £3,000* (each additional day) 

*this will depend upon the call and experience of the barrister 

Services to be provided 

Our fees include: 

• Taking instructions and reviewing documentation 
• Pre-action correspondence with other side (former employer/employee) 
• ACAS Early Conciliation steps 
• Issuing ET1 Claim form or preparing an ET3 response and correspondence with Employment Tribunal 
• Negotiations with other side* (whether direct with the other side or via ACAS) 
• Obtaining default judgment* 
• Preliminary Hearing steps, including list of issues, case management agenda (setting out the directions given by the Judge to bring the case to hearing), instructing barrister (counsel)*
• Case management steps (schedule of loss, documents, trial bundle, witness statements)
• Statement of issues/case list*
• Final hearing (including deciding on compensation payable – “remedy”) 

*where appropriate/necessary  

Charging Basis 

We charge on the basis of hourly rates, which are as follows: 

• Robert Whitaker (Executive Partner) - £275 plus VAT 
• Katherine Jameson (Associate) - £250 plus VAT 
• Katie Bowen Nicholas (Trainee) - £120 plus VAT 

Summary  

Our fees for a typical house purchase or sale are based upon the property value and for a simple transaction and range from:

Property value up to £200,000:

Fees from £1250 + VAT £250.00 = £1250.00

Property value from £200,000 up to £2 million:

Fees from £1250.00 + VAT £250.00 = £1500.00 TO £2450.00 + VAT £490.00 = £2940.00

Property value above £2 million:

Fees from £3000.00 + VAT £600.00 = £3600.00 

Residential property re-mortgage – fees typically between:

£500.00 + VAT £100.00 = £600.00 + disbursements and £750.00 + VAT £150.00 + £900.00 + disbursements

These figures may however vary in cases with special complications. That is why we will always give you an individual cost estimate at the start of the transaction, taking into account the actual features of your sale or purchase. We will set out in writing the estimate for our fees, VAT and disbursements and what work we will do for you, including assumptions and exclusions. We will always advise you immediately about any complications and discuss the potential impact on price before any additional charges are incurred.

Disbursements are expenses which we incur on your behalf to undertake the work which we carry out.

In a residential property purchase, these are likely to be:

• Stamp Duty Land Tax
• Land Registry fees
• search fees

In a residential property sale, these are likely to be:

• Land Registry fees for official copy entries
• management company fees (where the property is leasehold)

In a residential property re-mortgage, these are likely to be:

• Land Registry fees and search fees

The work we do on your behalf will be carried out at each of our offices by teams of qualified solicitors, legal executives or licensed conveyancers. The typical timescale for a property sale or purchase will depend upon a number of factors, many of which will be outside our control. On average this typically takes between 6 and 12 weeks from start to finish in a simple transaction.

Our people in the Residential Property Department are:

Anne Elliss - Executive Partner

Eleanor Burroughs - Partner

Allan Wright – Consultant

Amy Barrington - Senior associate

Imogen Collier - Senior Associate

Lisa Frost – Senior Associate

Julia Turner – Senior Associate

Catherine Banks – Associate

Marie Rodgers – Associate

Catherine Wilson - Associate Legal Executive

Sarah Davis – Solicitor

Jo Buck-Marshall - Solicitor

Cher Coles - Solicitor

Lara Bartlett - Cilex conveyancing practitioner

Wendy Smith – Licensed Conveyancer

Kirsten Vincent - Licensed Conveyancer

Rebecca Bates - Paralegal

Christina Ciccarelli - Paralegal

Charlotte Cutter - Paralegal

Kate Dutton - Paralegal

Ruffa Kemp - Paralegal

Kayleigh Mennell - Paralegal

Fiona Sinclair - Paralegal

No estate administration, grant of probate or letters of administration is exactly the same and, as such, our fees will reflect particular circumstances and requirements. Our fees below show a starting point in typical and simple examples.

These figures may however vary in cases with special complications. That is why we will always give you an individual cost estimate at the start of the transaction, taking into account the actual features of the work we undertake for you. We will set out in writing the estimate for our fees, VAT and disbursements and what work is covered by our fees, including assumptions and exclusions. This may be a fixed fee or calculated on the time we spend on the matter for you. We will always advise you immediately about any complications and discuss the potential impact on price before any additional charges are incurred.

1. Full estate administration service includes:

• ascertaining estate assets and liabilities 
• submitting H M Revenue & Customs form IHT205 or IHT400 (where appropriate)
• arranging for the payment of any Inheritance Tax payable
• preparing the probate application and supporting documents  
• Post receipt of Grant, realising estate assets and paying estate liabilities
• Distributing the estate in accordance with the terms of the Will/the rules of intestacy
• (*Where agreed*) we will render an Income Tax Return for the period to date of death and for the estate administration period
• Preparing estate accounts 
• all correspondence, telephone calls, attendances and documentation applicable to the above

This service does not include, if required: the sale or transfer of the deceased’s property, any Deed of Variation, any personal tax advice to beneficiaries,  advice on or work regarding the deceased’s lifetime tax affairs and advice on Trusts arising under the will.  These matters, if required, will be the subject of a separate price.    

2. Grant only service includes:

• ascertaining estate assets and liabilities 
• submitting H M Revenue & Customs form IHT205 or IHT400 (where appropriate)
• arranging for the payment of any Inheritance Tax payable
• preparing the probate application and supporting documents
• Sending the Grant to the client to deal with the remainder of the estate administration themselves

This service does not include, if required, correspondence or negotiation with HMRC regarding the Estate. These matters, if required, will be the subject of a separate price. 

3. Limited Grant only service

(Where you provide all estate assets and liabilities information and we only prepare the application for the grant of representation)

• submitting H M Revenue & Customs form IHT205 or IHT400 (where appropriate)
• arranging for the payment of any Inheritance Tax payable
• preparing the probate application and supporting documents  
• Sending the Grant to the client to deal with the remainder of the estate administration themselves

As indicated above, we may offer you a variety of pricing options for dealing with the matter.   On most occasions we charge on the basis of the time incurred in working on your matter and do not charge a percentage of the estate.  As such our fees will vary from case to case; however, shown below are our average fees. 

Limited grant only no IHT400

Starting from £1,250 + VAT

Average £1,750 + VAT

Grant only no IHT400

Starting from £1,750 + VAT

Average £3,000 + VAT

Grant and IHT 400 only

Starting from £2,250 + VAT

Average £4,000 + VAT

Full administration no IHT 400

Starting from £3,000 + VAT

Average £4,500 + VAT

Full administration and IHT 400

Starting from 4,500 + VAT

Average £6,500 + VAT

Likely disbursements

These are expenses incurred by us in undertaking the work we do for you and are charged in addition to our fees.

These typically are:

Probate fee: £273 plus £1.50 per sealed copy of the Grant

Our current range of hourly rates for our team is between £300 + VAT at partner level  to £125 + VAT at paralegal level.

Our people in the Wills, trusts, tax & probate team:

Catherine Mowat - Senior partner

Nicola Havers - Executive partner

Sarah Walker - Executive partner

Letty Glaister - Partner

Cathy Izzard - Partner

Ian Johnston - Partner

Helen Craughwell - Senior associate

Genevieve Gallager - Senior associate

Georgina Leighton - Senior associate

Carl Frost - Associate trust & tax accountant

Chris Claxton-Shirley - Associate

Heather Fuff - Associate

Frances Gill - Associate

Jennifer Koch - Associate

Natalie Liversidge - Associate

Luck Luck Ooi - Associate

Victoria Sweeting - Associate

Katharine Parsons - Associate trust & tax accountant

Lorna Boorman - Solicitor

Matthew Church - Solicitor

James Daynes - Support lawyer

Lauren Glynne - Solicitor

Victoria Morgan - Solicitor

Angela Sewell - Solicitor

Nicholas Corderoy - Trainee solicitor

Charlotte Middleditch - Trainee solicitor

Sophie Shirley - Chartered legal executive

Sharon Chan - Paralegal

Lynsey Gray - Paralegal

Joanne Henry - Paralegal

Andrew MacDonald - Paralegal

Marta Sikora - Paralegal

Nicole Reid - Paralegal

Lucy Sugar - Paralegal

Teri Olley - Trust and tax manager

Lily Measures - Trust and tax accountant

Angela Pannell - Trust and tax accountant

James Murray - Trust and tax accountant

Lauren Jacob - Trainee trust and tax accountant

Oscar Russell - Trainee trust and tax accountant

Learn more

These costs apply where your claim is in relation to an unpaid invoice which is not disputed and enforcement action is not needed. If the other party disputes your claim at any point, we will discuss any further work required and provide you with revised advice about costs if necessary, which could be on a fixed fee (e.g. if a one-off letter is required), or an hourly rate if more extensive work is needed.  These costs are fixed save where indicated with an “*”.

Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:

• The VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from your debtor in certain circumstances.
• Interest and compensation may take the debt into a higher banding, with a higher cost. 
• The costs quoted above are not for matters where enforcement action, such as the bailiff, is needed to collect your debt. 

Our fee includes:

• Taking your instructions and reviewing documentation
• Undertaking appropriate searches 
• Sending a letter before action 
• Receiving payment and sending onto you, or if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing claim
• Where no Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is received, applying to the court to enter Judgement in default
• When Judgement in default in received, write to the other side to request payment 
• If payment is not received within 28 days, providing you with advice on next steps and likely costs 

Matters usually take 1 to 4 months from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the other side, depending on whether or not it is necessary to issue a claim. This is on the basis that the other side pays promptly on receipt of Judgement in default. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve.

* This is a range and hourly rates apply and the advisor dealing with the matter will be identified depending on the complexity of the matter and value of the claim. 

The present hourly rates are:

Partners

Darren Perks - £240 plus VAT

David Perry - £250 plus VAT

Caroline Metcalf - £250 plus VAT

Senior Associates

Polly Kerr - £225 plus VAT 

Sara Stabler - £225 plus VAT

Associate

Gez Gibbs 

Katie Latham

Solicitors

Anna James-Pittau 

Emily Jones

Harry Panayiotou

Jason Torrence

Trainees Solicitor

Federico Baglioni

Paralegal

Jessica Barker

Learn more