COSTS AND PRICE TRANSPARENCY
Introduction
At Lawyers for Doctors Limited, we are aware that many complaints about solicitors arise due to perceived over-charging. Our aim is to give a good, value for money service to all our clients and to be open about our charges.
Disputes about costs can be time consuming and the time is almost always better spent pursuing your claim. At Lawyers for Doctors Limited, we want to give our clients as much information as we can about costs to help you save time and money.
As we explain to all our clients in our client care letter, we invoice you based on the time it takes to work on your matter. All time working on your file is recorded to a time-sheet in units of six minutes and the correct hourly rate for the fee earner is applied.
Time spent on dealing with your matter will depend on you instructions and will include but is not limited to –
Disputes about costs can be time consuming and the time is almost always better spent pursuing your claim. At Lawyers for Doctors Limited, we want to give our clients as much information as we can about costs to help you save time and money.
As we explain to all our clients in our client care letter, we invoice you based on the time it takes to work on your matter. All time working on your file is recorded to a time-sheet in units of six minutes and the correct hourly rate for the fee earner is applied.
Time spent on dealing with your matter will depend on you instructions and will include but is not limited to –
▪ Meetings with you and others
▪ Negotiating with others on your behalf in meetings by letter, email or telephone
▪ Considering and preparing and working on papers and documents
▪ Instructing third parties to act on your behalf such as barristers or experts
▪ Legal and factual research
▪ Correspondence and communications (sent and received including by letter, email, fax and text)
▪ Making and receiving telephone calls
▪ Preparing detailed costs calculations
▪ Negotiating with others on your behalf in meetings by letter, email or telephone
▪ Considering and preparing and working on papers and documents
▪ Instructing third parties to act on your behalf such as barristers or experts
▪ Legal and factual research
▪ Correspondence and communications (sent and received including by letter, email, fax and text)
▪ Making and receiving telephone calls
▪ Preparing detailed costs calculations
Our Promise to YoU
With every piece of work we undertake, we will bear in mind the eventual cost and the economics. We will do whatever we can to minimise the costs that you have to pay. We will work as quickly and efficiently as we can when drafting documents and pleadings.
We will record the time that we spend on our time-sheet and ensure that the time is accurately described.
We will always provide you with a copy of the time-sheet so that you can see how the invoice was broken down and the work involved. This enables you to query the time if you are not happy with our charges.
We will keep any legal research that we have to undertake to a minimum and where possible this will be non-chargeable.
If we are using barristers and other experts, we will endeavour to negotiate their fees, where possible, to try and obtain a cost saving for you particularly where we consider that a quote from a third party is excessive.
We will record the time that we spend on our time-sheet and ensure that the time is accurately described.
We will always provide you with a copy of the time-sheet so that you can see how the invoice was broken down and the work involved. This enables you to query the time if you are not happy with our charges.
We will keep any legal research that we have to undertake to a minimum and where possible this will be non-chargeable.
If we are using barristers and other experts, we will endeavour to negotiate their fees, where possible, to try and obtain a cost saving for you particularly where we consider that a quote from a third party is excessive.
Recovering CostS
When we are dealing with your matter, it might be tempting to assume that you will recover your costs from the other side if your case is successful. This is often not the case. In Employment Tribunal matters, it is highly unlikely that you will recover your costs from the other side. In Regulatory matters, it is less likely that costs will be obtained against a regulator.
Costs are usually awarded in civil litigation matters if you succeed but you would not obtain all the costs back. In civil litigation matters costs can be awarded against you if you lose your case.
On occasions, you could be ordered by an Employment Tribunal or court to pay your opponent’s costs. For example, if you do not comply with the Employment Tribunal’s orders, if you act unreasonably or if you pursue / defend a claim without prospects of success.
In civil litigation matters, if your claim or defence does not succeed, you will usually be ordered to pay your opponent’s costs.
When we are dealing with your matter, it might be tempting to assume that you will recover your costs from the other side if your case is successful. This is often not the case. In Employment Tribunal matters, it is highly unlikely that you will recover your costs from the other side. In Regulatory matters, it is less likely that costs will be obtained against a regulator.
Costs are usually awarded in civil litigation matters if you succeed but you would not obtain all the costs back. In civil litigation matters costs can be awarded against you if you lose your case.
On occasions, you could be ordered by an Employment Tribunal or court to pay your opponent’s costs. For example, if you do not comply with the Employment Tribunal’s orders, if you act unreasonably or if you pursue / defend a claim without prospects of success.
In civil litigation matters, if your claim or defence does not succeed, you will usually be ordered to pay your opponent’s costs.
Costs awarded against yoU
In civil litigation cases (County or High court), costs will usually be awarded against the losing party but not all costs are recovered.
Costs are not usually awarded against those pursuing or defending Employment Tribunal cases but there are some occasions when our client could face an application for costs against them which are as follows the claim or defence was unreasonable, vexatious and/or misconceived. This can happen if the claim brought or the defence had no reasonable prospect of success or if a party fails to comply with Tribunal’s orders or directions.
Costs are not usually awarded against those pursuing or defending Employment Tribunal cases but there are some occasions when our client could face an application for costs against them which are as follows the claim or defence was unreasonable, vexatious and/or misconceived. This can happen if the claim brought or the defence had no reasonable prospect of success or if a party fails to comply with Tribunal’s orders or directions.
INSURANCE FUNDED MATTERS
|
Check carefully to see whether you have legal expenses insurance. Look at your household insurance policy, motor policy, bank account, AA / RAC rescue cover, Pet Insurance. Many of these insurances allow cover for employment law claims. We can usually still represent you even if your insurer has a panel of solicitors that it usually uses.
Regulation 6 of the Insurance Companies (Legal Expenses Insurance) Regulations 1990 [SI 1159]) allows policyholders to choose their own solicitors to act for them in any “inquiry or proceedings”: “Where under a legal expenses insurance contract recourse is had to a lawyer (or other person having such qualifications as may be necessary) to defend, represent or serve the interests of the insured in any inquiry or proceedings, the insured shall be free to choose that lawyer (or other person).”
The Financial Services Ombudsman deals with complaints about insurers and a useful article can be found regarding their work in deal with legal expenses complaints –Financial Ombudsman Article
If you matter is funded by an insurance company, clients can sometimes assume that the matter is free and that as your solicitors we can spend a lot of time working on the matter without restriction. This is not a correct assumption. We often have to agree a set amount of costs with the insurer in advance and we are not usually permitted to exceed that estimate. Similarly, even insured claims must be economic and an insurer will not allow us to spend £10,000 to recover £5,000.
Often insurers will agree only to fund part of a claim and will not usually fund costs incurred until proceedings are issued. This means that all pre-action / pre-litigation costs are usually funded by you privately. These costs include those such as dealing with grievances or appeals. Insurers often refuse to pay for certain disbursements / expenses. Even in insurance matters, it is important that you are “costs conscious” and try to save time and money for yourself as set out below.
All insurers insist that costs are proportionate, and we usually agree a costs budget with the insurer. Often if we exceed the costs budget or the limit of indemnity in the policy, the insurer will refuse to continue to fund the claim above the limit.
Although insurance companies often have a limit of indemnity of £50,000 this does not mean that they will allow us to incur fees on your behalf up to £50,000 and the agreed budget is often less. The budget will include the fees to represent you at the hearing and these will either be our fees in undertaking the advocacy at the hearing or those of a barrister. All budgets agreed by the insurer usually includes VAT.
Similarly, in larger litigation matters fees of £50,000 can easily be incurred and insurers will never pay over and above the indemnity. In those cases where costs exceed the indemnity you will be liable for the costs privately and not the insurer
Regulation 6 of the Insurance Companies (Legal Expenses Insurance) Regulations 1990 [SI 1159]) allows policyholders to choose their own solicitors to act for them in any “inquiry or proceedings”: “Where under a legal expenses insurance contract recourse is had to a lawyer (or other person having such qualifications as may be necessary) to defend, represent or serve the interests of the insured in any inquiry or proceedings, the insured shall be free to choose that lawyer (or other person).”
The Financial Services Ombudsman deals with complaints about insurers and a useful article can be found regarding their work in deal with legal expenses complaints –Financial Ombudsman Article
If you matter is funded by an insurance company, clients can sometimes assume that the matter is free and that as your solicitors we can spend a lot of time working on the matter without restriction. This is not a correct assumption. We often have to agree a set amount of costs with the insurer in advance and we are not usually permitted to exceed that estimate. Similarly, even insured claims must be economic and an insurer will not allow us to spend £10,000 to recover £5,000.
Often insurers will agree only to fund part of a claim and will not usually fund costs incurred until proceedings are issued. This means that all pre-action / pre-litigation costs are usually funded by you privately. These costs include those such as dealing with grievances or appeals. Insurers often refuse to pay for certain disbursements / expenses. Even in insurance matters, it is important that you are “costs conscious” and try to save time and money for yourself as set out below.
All insurers insist that costs are proportionate, and we usually agree a costs budget with the insurer. Often if we exceed the costs budget or the limit of indemnity in the policy, the insurer will refuse to continue to fund the claim above the limit.
Although insurance companies often have a limit of indemnity of £50,000 this does not mean that they will allow us to incur fees on your behalf up to £50,000 and the agreed budget is often less. The budget will include the fees to represent you at the hearing and these will either be our fees in undertaking the advocacy at the hearing or those of a barrister. All budgets agreed by the insurer usually includes VAT.
Similarly, in larger litigation matters fees of £50,000 can easily be incurred and insurers will never pay over and above the indemnity. In those cases where costs exceed the indemnity you will be liable for the costs privately and not the insurer
Costs in Employment Tribunal and Debt Recovery matters
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published the final report of its legal services market study in December 2016. In that report, the CMA concluded that the legal services market was not working well for individuals and small business customers. It considered that the main problem was that customers do not have access to enough upfront information to navigate the legal services market and engage with providers. It recommended that all regulators take action enhance the standards of transparency from providers, by disclosing more information on price, service and quality of legal services. Our regulator is the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Accordingly, under the Solicitors Regulation Authority (“SRA”) Transparency Rules, we are required to provide you with very detailed costs information about certain services that we provide namely –
Let us deal with each of these issues -
Accordingly, under the Solicitors Regulation Authority (“SRA”) Transparency Rules, we are required to provide you with very detailed costs information about certain services that we provide namely –
- Employment tribunals (defending and bringing claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal)
- Debt recovery (up to £100,000)
Let us deal with each of these issues -
Employment tribunals (defending and bringing claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal)
We rarely deal with claims with involve a simple unfair dismissal or wrongful dismissal because most of our claims involved complex arguments regarding discrimination or whistleblowing.
A straightforward unfair dismissal or wrongful dismissal claim is likely to cost in the range of £12,000 – £23,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%) based on a 3-day hearing at our hourly rate of £282 per hour (excluding VAT, charged at 20%). This is to both pursue or defend the claim in other words whether you are the employee bringing the claim or the employer defending it. The estimated costs can be broken down into –
- Straightforward case: £20,000 – £28,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)
- More complicated case: £28,000 – £60,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)
- Highly complex case: £60,000 – £185,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)
The complexity will depend on a number of factors such as the number of witnesses, the amount of documentation, the complexity of the arguments, the factual background, whether there is a dispute about employment status and the length of the hearing.
There are currently no fees to bring Employment Tribunal claims. Such fees were formerly in place but were abolished following a Supreme Court ruling on 26 July 2017 that the fee system was unlawful.
There will be extra fees for representation at the Employment Tribunal i.e. providing the advocacy on the day of the hearing. We would either undertake the advocacy ourselves or where this is not possible due to availability, we would instruct a barrister to provide the services. The advocacy fees are likely to be approximately £1000 - £2,000 per day of the hearing (excluding VAT, charged at 20%) and a fee to prepare for the hearing known as a Brief Fee. The Brief Fee will generally be based on the number of days of the hearing x the daily rate. For a 7 day hearing where the daily rate is £1,000 the preparation fee is likely to be £7,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%).
There may be additional expenses in addition to the legal costs such as photocopying fees or train fares which would also incur a charge of VAT (charged at 20%).
In bringing an unfair dismissal claim (with no discrimination, whistleblowing) your compensation will be capped at one year’s gross pay or £89,493 (as at 6 April 2021. Claims involving whistleblowing dismissal or discriminatory dismissals are not capped in terms of the compensation.
Due to the cap on the compensation, this means that for lower salary earners, it is often not economic to bring a claim of unfair dismissal and it is usually only recommended for higher earners to see a matter right through to the Tribunal hearing. For those on lower incomes, we would attempt to try and negotiate a settlement and we would advise you against spending costs that are likely to outweigh the eventual award of compensation.
Similarly, for those defending an unfair dismissal claim, we would always advise you to deal with the matter economically and discuss settlement of a matter with you where we think that this will save costs.
Another route we can take for those where defending or pursuing the claim is going to be costly, is to provide a consultancy service where you manage the litigation yourself and revert to us for help rather than us being on the Tribunal record. This can result in a costs-saving particularly where you manage the process of disclosing documents yourself which is a costly aspect of litigation. This involves preparing a list of all the documents relevant to your dispute. You could also produce a first draft of any necessary witness statements.
Debt Recovery Matters under £100,000
We can assist our GP, Dental Practices and Nursing Homes in recovering debts from those who owe you money for any amount. We also provide this service to individual doctors, dentists, associates and locums.
The Solicitor’s Regulation Authority has asked all law firms to give clear information as to the costs of pursuing a debt under £100,000. Our charges for undertaking this work are likely to be in the following range –
In assessing whether a claim is complex, we would take into account matters such as the nature of the defence, the type of dispute, difficulties in tracing the debtor, any counter-claim that the debtor brings.
In addition, there are court fees for bringing the claim that start at he court fees for starting proceedings range from £25 to £10,000, depending on the value of the claim. You can see the fees on the government website
You will also need to factor in barristers fees plus VAT which are likely to be in the range of £2,000 - £6,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%) in addition to the costs above, depending on the length of the hearing but assuming a hearing of 1 - 3 days.
The Solicitor’s Regulation Authority has asked all law firms to give clear information as to the costs of pursuing a debt under £100,000. Our charges for undertaking this work are likely to be in the following range –
- Straightforward claims – from £15,000 to £25,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)
- More complicated claims – from £25,000 to £38,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)
- Highly complex cases – in excess of £38,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)
In assessing whether a claim is complex, we would take into account matters such as the nature of the defence, the type of dispute, difficulties in tracing the debtor, any counter-claim that the debtor brings.
In addition, there are court fees for bringing the claim that start at he court fees for starting proceedings range from £25 to £10,000, depending on the value of the claim. You can see the fees on the government website
You will also need to factor in barristers fees plus VAT which are likely to be in the range of £2,000 - £6,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%) in addition to the costs above, depending on the length of the hearing but assuming a hearing of 1 - 3 days.
In all cases, what you can do to save money for yourself
When you give information to us, make sure that you provide all the relevant information at the same time so that it saves time in asking you for further information or checking multiple sources of information.
It is useful to have a detailed Chronology of Events at the outset of your matter to which we can refer throughout and might even form the basis of your witness statement.
When you provide documents to us make sure that they are in chronological order and indexed. It is also useful if you provide a more detailed column in the index explaining what a document is and why it is relevant. This saves time for us in asking questions about what documents are.
If you provide documents to us late this can impact the costs involved. For example, if you provide documents late, we may need to undertake further work on your witness statement or amend it to refer to the documents which will increase the costs for you.
We enjoy talking with our clients on the telephone which helps to create good client relationships and the ability to ask questions then and there. It also enables us to provide our clients with support. All telephone calls are logged, and the time involved charged to your invoice. This means that long telephone calls will contribute to a larger invoice. Consider whether you always need to make a telephone call or whether on occasions a clear email will suffice. When you do need to call, make sure that the information conveyed is clear and focussed.
When you provide us with documents, it is always a good idea to provide an explanation of what the document is and why it is relevant. Simply forwarding documentation without an explanation will give rise to us having to contact you to ask for further information. The best way is to provide an annotated index explaining what a document is and why it is important to your case. Again, you are not obliged to undertake this task but sending large amounts of documents without an explanation will incur time and extra costs.
Meetings are also a good way of learning more about you and your case. Meetings are crucial when it comes to undertaking witness statements. However, if you believe that multiple meetings are necessary in your case, consider whether some of these could be conducted through a telephone conference call which may save more time (to include travel time) than meeting in person.
When we ask you to provide information to us such as comments on the other’s side defence please respond promptly as long delays can harm your prospects of success and incur costs.
When providing further information that we request, take the time to consider matters carefully rather than sending an immediate response. The more thoroughly you prepare your response the more helpful the information will be and the less time (and cost) will be required on our part saving your money. Try to refrain from emotional responses and deal with the facts and try to rebut them with your own factual evidence.
In litigation or regulatory work, witness evidence is the single most important factor that could enable your case to succeed. When deciding on which witnesses you are going to call in litigation, think about the evidence that the witness will give in proportion to the costs and how relevant the witnesses evidence will be. Often large numbers of character witnesses will not assist you case. Witness evidence will always lead to extra costs in preparing the witness statement and can lead to a longer hearing.
When preparing your own witness statement, please take time to check the information carefully and it often saves time if you can amend the statement with your changes in tracked changes. Thereafter a discussion can take place as to whether the changes are necessary.
When providing instructions please do so very clearly. Please make your emails clear, detailed and focussed.
If you have a disability which means that your ability to provide instructions will take you longer or you need extra help, please make us aware of this as we will be able to make adjustments for you.
We hope that the above was helpful and we look forward to working with you on your matter.
It is useful to have a detailed Chronology of Events at the outset of your matter to which we can refer throughout and might even form the basis of your witness statement.
When you provide documents to us make sure that they are in chronological order and indexed. It is also useful if you provide a more detailed column in the index explaining what a document is and why it is relevant. This saves time for us in asking questions about what documents are.
If you provide documents to us late this can impact the costs involved. For example, if you provide documents late, we may need to undertake further work on your witness statement or amend it to refer to the documents which will increase the costs for you.
We enjoy talking with our clients on the telephone which helps to create good client relationships and the ability to ask questions then and there. It also enables us to provide our clients with support. All telephone calls are logged, and the time involved charged to your invoice. This means that long telephone calls will contribute to a larger invoice. Consider whether you always need to make a telephone call or whether on occasions a clear email will suffice. When you do need to call, make sure that the information conveyed is clear and focussed.
When you provide us with documents, it is always a good idea to provide an explanation of what the document is and why it is relevant. Simply forwarding documentation without an explanation will give rise to us having to contact you to ask for further information. The best way is to provide an annotated index explaining what a document is and why it is important to your case. Again, you are not obliged to undertake this task but sending large amounts of documents without an explanation will incur time and extra costs.
Meetings are also a good way of learning more about you and your case. Meetings are crucial when it comes to undertaking witness statements. However, if you believe that multiple meetings are necessary in your case, consider whether some of these could be conducted through a telephone conference call which may save more time (to include travel time) than meeting in person.
When we ask you to provide information to us such as comments on the other’s side defence please respond promptly as long delays can harm your prospects of success and incur costs.
When providing further information that we request, take the time to consider matters carefully rather than sending an immediate response. The more thoroughly you prepare your response the more helpful the information will be and the less time (and cost) will be required on our part saving your money. Try to refrain from emotional responses and deal with the facts and try to rebut them with your own factual evidence.
In litigation or regulatory work, witness evidence is the single most important factor that could enable your case to succeed. When deciding on which witnesses you are going to call in litigation, think about the evidence that the witness will give in proportion to the costs and how relevant the witnesses evidence will be. Often large numbers of character witnesses will not assist you case. Witness evidence will always lead to extra costs in preparing the witness statement and can lead to a longer hearing.
When preparing your own witness statement, please take time to check the information carefully and it often saves time if you can amend the statement with your changes in tracked changes. Thereafter a discussion can take place as to whether the changes are necessary.
When providing instructions please do so very clearly. Please make your emails clear, detailed and focussed.
If you have a disability which means that your ability to provide instructions will take you longer or you need extra help, please make us aware of this as we will be able to make adjustments for you.
We hope that the above was helpful and we look forward to working with you on your matter.
© Lawyers for Doctors Limited all rights reserved . Lawyers for Doctors Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales number 11159604, registered office , Broad Quay House , Prince Street , Bristol , BS1 4DJ. Lawyers for Doctors Limited is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority ( SRA 646842 ) . VAT registration number 290 6908 75 |
Our policies and terms of businessContact DetailsEmail: [email protected]
Telephone; 0117 304 8030 |
|