Commercial Disputes & Litigation Solicitors

Litigation Costs

Hourly rate

The hourly rates of our lawyers depend upon their seniority.  We charge our lawyers out at the following hourly rates, to which VAT must be added.

• Partners – £365.00 to £375.00
• Solicitors and qualified legal executives (members of CILEX) – £205.00 to £265.00
• Trainee Solicitors – £190.00

Total costs of our services

The total costs of handling your claim will depend upon a variety of factors including how complex the claim is and, most importantly, whether the claim is disputed.  In a straightforward debt collection matter where the debtor does not defend the claim or admit liability, the costs of issuing court proceedings and obtaining judgment may be as little as £1,500.00 plus VAT.  This, however, excludes the cost of enforcement measures: when a debtor does not defend a claim and judgment is obtained, the debtor may well not pay up.  A range of enforcement measures are available but each generally costs many thousands of pounds.  

Our charges for taking instructions from you, discussing the case, reviewing the papers and drafting an initial letter to your opponent are likely to be between about £1,000.00 and £4,000.00 plus VAT.  To take the case to trial, however, our fees are likely to be in the region of £30,000.00 to £80,000.00 plus VAT.  The lower end of the scale is likely to apply to contract disputes while the higher end of the scale is likely to apply to complex property disputes.  To these must be added counsel’s fees, court fees, expert’s fees and other disbursements as set out below:

Counsel’s fees

• Opinion on the merits – £1,500.00 to £3,000.00 plus VAT
• Drafting statement of case – £1,000.00 to £2,000.00 plus VAT
• Fees for an interim hearing – £750.00 to £5,000.00 plus VAT
• Brief for trial – £5,000.00 to £30,000.00 plus VAT

Court fees

The court service charges up to 5% of the value of the claim at the point at which court proceedings are issued; consequently, in a claim worth £200,000.00 or more, the court fee is £10,000.00 (and the court fee is capped at £10,000.00).

Experts’ fees

Experts’ reports are particularly important in property disputes where a report from a boundary surveyor, for example, is likely to cost in the region of £1,500.00 to £4,000.00 plus VAT.  Other reports, such as from a forensic accountant, can be much more expensive.

Disbursements

These include travel, accommodation, court bundling and other miscellaneous out-of-pocket expenses.

Timescales and costs for each stage of the case

Timescales are unfortunately now very protracted, particularly in the County Court, where cases routinely take between 1 and 3 years to reach trial from the point at which court proceedings are issued.  In the High Court (reserved for more valuable cases) timescales are shorter than this. The same applies in other tribunals such as the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), which is the forum commonly used in property disputes.  Very approximately, the legal costs of each stage of court proceedings (assuming the case is, say, a property dispute in which total legal costs, including our fees, counsel’s fees, experts’ fees and other disbursements are about £100,000.00 plus VAT) are:

• Statements of case – £10,000.00
• Costs and case management conference – £15,000.00
• Disclosure – £10,000.00
• Witness statements – £10,000.00
• Experts’ reports – £15,000.00
• Pre-trial review – £10,000.00
• Trial – £30,000.00

Recovery of costs

The normal rule is that the loser pays the winner’s legal costs.  In other words, at the end of the case, the trial judge is likely to order the losing party to pay the winning party’s legal costs.  The trial judge does, however, have considerable discretion as to costs and, particularly in property disputes, it is rare for the judge to order the losing party to pay all the winning party’s costs.  

Furthermore (and unless the parties can reach an agreement beforehand), legal costs generally have to be assessed by a costs judge at a hearing which usually takes place at least several months after the trial.  Normally, a costs judge will only order the losing party to pay approximately 50% to 80% of the winning party’s costs.  In addition, the court can order a party to pay the other party’s legal costs relating to an interim hearing, during the case.  If the losing party fails to pay up after a detailed assessment of costs, enforcement measures may cost as much as tens of thousands of pounds.