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Fee Transparency

Fee Information For Selected Services

All fees below exclude VAT which is payable

Wyn Legal aims to provide a high level of legal services at a competitive rate. Every case is unique and legal costs vary depending on the nature and complexity of the matter.

For the purposes of the below, VAT is charged at 20% (or as amended from time to time).

Initial Consultation

The initial 15 minute consultation is at no charge. If you decide not to instruct us following the initial 15 minute consultation, there will be no obligation to pay our fees.

 

Types of work and our hourly rate

 

Employment Tribunal Work (personal)

 
Legal Fee

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal:

Simple case: £800-£6,000 (+VAT of £160 – £1,200);

Medium complexity case: £6,000-£10,000 (+VAT of £1,200 – £2,000);

High complexity case: £10,000-£25,000 (+VAT of £2,000 – £5,000).

Factors that could make a case more complex:

If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim;

Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person;

Making or defending a costs application;

Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties);

The number of witnesses and documents;

If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer; and

Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal.

There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of £1,000 per day (+VAT of £200). Generally, we would allow 0-3 days depending on the complexity of your case.

The above fees are estimates based on anticipated time spent by appropriately legally qualified or non-qualified staff. We usually charge on a time basis and details of how we would charge in any particular case would be set out in our client care letter, as would details of the seniority and qualifications of persons carrying out the work. 

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Counsel’s fees estimated between £500 to £5,000 per day (+VAT of £100 – £1,000) if counsel is registered for VAT (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).

 
Time scales

Time scales could be between 6 – 18 months, depending on complexity of the case.

Services Provided and Key Stages

Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change);

Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;

Preparing claim or response;

Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party;

Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process;

Preparing or considering a schedule of loss;

Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing, including instructions to Counsel;

Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents;

Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses;

Preparing bundle of documents;

Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements;

Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list; and

Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel.

Employment Tribunal Work (commercial)

 
Legal Fees

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal:

Simple case: £800-£3,500 (+VAT of £160 – £700);

Medium complexity case: £2,500-£10,000 (+VAT of £500 – £2,000);

High complexity case: £10,000-£25,000 (+VAT of £2,000 – £5,000).

Factors that could make a case more complex:

If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim;

Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person;

Making or defending a costs application;

Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties);

The number of witnesses and documents;

There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of £1,000 per day (+VAT of £200). Generally, we would allow 0-3 days depending on the complexity of your case.

The above fees are estimates based on anticipated time spent by appropriately legally qualified or non-qualified staff.  We usually charge on a time basis and details of how we would charge in any particular case would be set out in our client care letter, as would details of the seniority and qualifications of persons carrying out the work.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Counsel’s fees estimated between £500 to £5,000 per day (+VAT of £100 – £1,000) if counsel is registered for VAT (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).

 
Time scales

Time scales could be between 6 – 18 months, depending on complexity of the case.

 
Services Provided and Key Stages

Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change);

Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;

Preparing claim or response;

Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party;

Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process;

Preparing or considering a schedule of loss;

Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing, including instructions to Counsel;

Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents;

Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses;

Preparing bundle of documents;

Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements;

Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list; and

Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel.

 

Our terms relating to fees for general litigation work

Debt Recovery

The below table sets out our fees and costs associated with a claim issued at the Court Money Claims Centre. These costs apply where your claim is in relation to an uncontested invoice and enforcement action is not required. If the other party dispute your claim, we will discuss any further work and advise you on costs.

 

Debt Value

Court Fee

Our Fee

VAT

Up to £5,000

£35 – £205

£600 – £1000

£120 – £200

£5001 – £10,000

£410 – £455

£750 – £1,500

£150 – £300

£10,001 – £50,000

4.5% (if filed online) – 5% (if file by paper) of the value of the claim

£1,500 – £2,500

£300 – £500

£50,001 – £100,000

4.5% (if filed online) – 5% (if file by paper) of the value of the claim

£2,500 – £4,000

£500 – £800

Disbursements may include counsel’s fees, court fees and postage

 
Time scales

Time scales could be between 6 – 18 months, depending on the value of the claim.

In determining the fees to be charged, we will take into consideration the following:-

  • the nature and complexity of the work; 
  • the amount of time spent, knowledge required and responsibility involved;
  • the type and nature of the documents involved; and 
  • the value of the transaction, property or subject matter.

Details of our charges are set out in our engagement letter.  We may agree to charge you on a fixed-fee basis or on a time basis. In the latter case we record time in six-minute units. 

Where our fees are calculated on a time basis our current hourly charging rates are as follows, unless otherwise notified:

For the purposes of the below, VAT is charged at 20% (or as amended from time to time).

            Partner                                                                        –          £500 p/h

            Senior Solicitor                                                          –          £395 p/h

            Solicitor                                                                       –          £300 p/h

            Senior Consultant Solicitor                                      –          £300 – £395 p/h

            Consultant Solicitor                                                   –          £250 p/h

            Legal Executive/Licensed Conveyancer                –          £200 p/h

            Consultant Legal Executive                                     –          £200 p/h

            Trainee Solicitor                                                        –          £200 p/h

Our rates are reviewed regularly and we will notify you in writing if these rates change.

Details of who will carry out the work can be accessed here

For the purposes of calculating time spent on your matter, we will include, but is not limited to, all meetings with you and others in relation to the matter, time spent travelling and waiting, considering and preparing papers, making and receiving telephone calls, correspondence, sending and receiving e-mails, attendance at Court or Tribunal, time spent in filing documents at Court and undertaking other clerking tasks, and documenting the arrangements under which we will provide legal services to you.

The amount of time spent on a matter will also be influenced by the manner in which you respond to our requests for information.  Timely provision of up to date information will help us to spend less time on your matter.

We provide you with estimates to assist you in understanding what your case may cost but also to enable you to adequately budget and make an informed decision as to whether to proceed or not. Our estimate is not reflective of a fixed-fee nor conclusive and should not be regarded as such unless specifically confirmed in writing. 

If a transaction or other matter does not proceed to completion, our fees (together with disbursements and VAT) will still be payable.

Any agreed fee structure such as a fixed-fee will not cover additional work not identified when the structure was entered into. 

Where you have made a payment on account of fees or disbursements or where we are holding monies on your behalf, we may deduct any sums owing to us from such monies before accounting to you for the balance.

Where we are acting for a corporate client, we may, as a condition to our providing legal services to you, require one or all of the directors or shareholders to guarantee the payment of any sums due to us by the corporate client by executing a personal guarantee.  

We may request this prior to commencing legal services or at any time during our engagement. If we receive notice of termination of any personal guarantee, we may suspend our engagement until we are satisfied that any sums due to us will be paid and we may terminate our engagement by notice in writing.

 

Disbursements

Unless expressly stated, our fee estimates do not include expenses or payments to third parties which we may have to incur on your behalf.  These are known as “disbursements”.  Examples of disbursements are travel expenses, phone call charges, fax and photocopying charges, experts’ (including costs draftsmen) fees, Counsels’ fees, stamp duty and search fees.  These will generally be billed at the same time as we invoice you for our fees, but may sometimes be billed at another time.

If we have to incur additional expenses for staff, other than lawyers, working overtime on evenings or weekends in order to provide an effective service to you, we may include these expenses as a separate item on our invoice to you.

Although it is very difficult to give an exact figure for a disbursement, the average costs that may apply are outlined below: 

  1. Travel expenses between £15.00 – £150.00 +VAT per each way of a journey
  2. Fax and photocopying charges 50p + VAT per page for printing and photocopying
  3. Counsel fees Between £350+VAT and £500+VAT per hour.

Our disbursements will generally attract VAT

Key Stages for the Litigation Procedure and general projected cost estimates

In case you have not been through the litigation process before, we have set out below some of the basic steps that are involved in most of the proceedings in this jurisdiction.  This is intended to be a broad brush guide to give you a flavour of how litigation tends to proceed.  Of course we will give you specific advice relevant to your case as it progresses.

Letter of Claim

The parties are required to exchange information relevant to the claim prior to any proceedings being commenced.  The starting point is for the prospective Claimant to send the prospective Defendant a formal Letter of Claim setting out the claim in full.  The prospective Defendant then has an opportunity to respond.  From the outset, all documents which might be relevant to the case must be preserved.

Beginning the Proceedings

In order to then begin the court proceedings, a Claim Form and Particulars of Claim are issued at Court and served on the Defendant(s).  These are often drafted by a barrister who is instructed and who remains involved in the case (each side will usually instruct a barrister).  A Court fee is incurred at this stage as well as fees for the barrister.  The Particulars of Claim set out in detail the nature of what has happened and what the Claimant seeks from the Defendant.

Responding to the Proceedings

This is the opportunity for the Defendant to set out their case in response to the Particulars of Claim by serving a Defence.  Again, this is usually drafted by the barrister.  To the extent the Defendant has a Counterclaim, this is incorporated separately into the Defence.

Reply and Defence to any Counterclaim

The Reply is an opportunity for the Claimant to answer anything the Defendant puts in their Defence and put in a Defence to any Counterclaim that has been brought by the Defendant.  The process up to this point in the case can take several months to complete.

Case Management Conference

The parties’ solicitors often attend at this stage at short procedural hearing at Court to agree the timetable for the remainder of the case.  Sometimes, these steps can be agreed and attendance at Court can be avoided.

Interim Applications

It is necessary in most cases to make or defend applications made to the Court during the case which deal with various procedural matters.  Such applications, which are heard by the Court, tend to be short hearings to determine, for example, contested changes to timetabling, security for costs and other interim points in the case.

Disclosure and Inspection

This is the next stage of the claim where the parties exchange documents that are relevant to the issues.  All documents, whether they help your case or affect it adversely, must be disclosed.  A Disclosure Statement must be signed by each party confirming that Disclosure obligations have been complied with.  The obligation to disclose relevant documents continues throughout the litigation.  Even if documents are discovered after the formal disclosure step has taken place you will be required to disclose them to the other party.

Witness Statements

This is the opportunity for each side to set out in writing their position, often explaining all the detailed facts in the case.  Witness Statements are provided by individuals who have evidence that is key to the issues in the case.  The parties exchange witness statements simultaneously.

Expert Evidence

Depending on the type of case, sometimes it is necessary for experts to be instructed and to provide evidence to assist the Court in deciding the issues in the case.  The experts often meet to see if they can find any common ground between them.

Mediation

Mediation is one of the forms of alternate dispute resolution (“ADR”) available to the parties in litigation.  It can take place at any stage in a case, and often takes place shortly after the Case Management Conference.  On other occasions, however, it is more appropriate for mediation to take place once expert evidence has been exchanged.  The appointed mediator acts as a neutral referee to help the parties work towards settlement.  If successful the mediation will result in agreement which ends the litigation, otherwise the case continues.

There are other means of trying to settle proceedings.  These include “without prejudice” offers to settle, as well as what are referred to as Part 36 offers.  These two types of offer have different costs implications, and it is a tactical decision as to how, if and when such offers are deployed.

Pre-trial Review

In certain cases, the parties’ solicitors need to attend before the Court to discuss how the trial itself will be timetabled and to iron out any procedural issues that have arisen in the case so far.

The Trial

A large proportion of cases settle before the first day of Trial.  For the cases that proceed to Trial, however, this is the forum for the Court to decide the legal issues in the case and to hear the evidence from those individuals who have provided Witness Statements and any expert evidence.  In many cases, the Judge will not decide the issues immediately but will reserve Judgement to a later date.

Appeals

Once the Judge has handed down Judgement and costs awards have been dealt with, the losing party can consider applying for permission to appeal all or part of the Judgement.  In County Court cases, the decision of the Circuit Judge is first appealed to a High Court Judge, whose decision can be appealed to the Court of Appeal.  In High Court cases, it is the Court of Appeal that first considers the appeal.

Further appeals can, in certain circumstances, be heard by the Supreme Court (formerly the House of Lords) and thereafter by the European Court of Justice or the Privy Council.

No.

Stages of Litigation Cost estimate

(£) excluding VAT

1.

Instructing Counsel to provide an Opinion

£1500 – £5,000

2A.

Drafting Claim and Particulars of Claim (where Claimant)

£2,500 – £10,000

2B.

Drafting Defence and any Counterclaim (where Defendant)

£2,500 – £10,000

3A.

Reviewing the Defence and preparing the Reply and Defence to any Counterclaim, (where Claimant) (including, instructing Counsel, meetings with you and drafting documents)

£2,000 – £5,000

3B.

Drafting any Reply to Defence of Counterclaim (where Defendant)

£2,000 – £5,000

4.

Preparation for and attendance at Case Management Conference

£1,500 – £3,500

5.

Interim Applications, where applicable, (such as requests for extensions of time, addition of parties, disclosure of specific documents)

£5,000 – £40,000

6.

Disclosure of documents relating to the case and inspection of the other side’s documents

£2,500 – £25,000

7.

Preparation of witness statements (including meetings with witnesses and with you, and drafting statements.)

£3,000 – £30,000

8.

Advising on and preparation for any Mediation (where applicable) (including Mediation Statements, relevant documents etc.)

£10,000 – £20,000

9.

Preparation for and attendance at Pre-trial Review (where applicable)

£1,500 – £3,500

10.

Preparing for and attending the Trial

£1,500 – £3,500

(per day of trial)

11.

General issues including, without prejudice negotiations, liaising with you, Counsel and other side

Approximately 10% of total

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