Price Transparency
We strive to be as transparent and clear as possible with our clients when it comes to our fees. We recognise the importance of keeping our clients fully informed of costs throughout each stage of their case to avoid any last-minute surprises. Our fees can vary for each matter depending on the issues involved.
We usually charge on an hourly rate basis although there may be some occasions where we may accept work on a fixed fee basis. We will inform you of how we calculate our charges and provide you with an estimated breakdown of our likely overall costs when we first meet with you.
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The hourly rates of our partners depend on the complexity of your case and are usually as follows:
Samuel Manok-Sanoian: £400 to £450 plus VAT
Viktor Pawlikowski: £300 to £325 plus VAT
Samuel Manok-Sanoian is a solicitor with over 15 years’ experience of handling complex commercial and civil disputes. Viktor Pawlikowski is a solicitor with higher rights of audience (criminal) and police station accreditation.
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In addition to our profit costs (our fees for the work we do for you), you may have to pay VAT and disbursements.
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VAT at the rate of 20% is payable on all our fees except in certain circumstances where you are resident abroad or a company registered outside of England and Wales.
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Disbursements are fees payable to third parties to obtain their services and may include fees for barristers (commonly referred to as “Counsel”), experts, interpreters, medical reports and travel costs. We will always seek your approval before any disbursements are to be incurred on your behalf.
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Given the nature of our work, we are unable to offer any legal aid representation. However, we maintain close relationships with other law firms and are able to refer clients to our contacts if we are unable to assist with their case.
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Please note that we do not currently offer Contingency Fee Agreements (i.e. “no win no fee” agreements) or Damages Based Agreements (i.e. an agreement that our fees shall be based upon a specific percentage of any damages that we recover on your behalf).
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We are required by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to set out our fees for certain types of work we do, which are listed below:
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MOTORING OFFENCES
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If you are charged with any motoring offence, we are able to assist you from the pre-charge stage to representing you at any subsequent Court hearing. Our fees for dealing with motoring offences can vary depending on whether you plead guilty or not guilty and the number of hearings involved. We offer both fixed fees and hourly rates if the case is more complex. Viktor Pawlikowski will be responsible for conducting your case and his hourly rate ranges from £300 to £325 plus VAT.
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Our estimated fees for a guilty plea range from £1,500 to £2,500 plus VAT. Our work will include having an initial consultation with you, taking your instructions, considering the evidence, advising you in relation to sentence, travelling to and representing you at Court (usually at a single Magistrates Court hearing).
Our estimated fees for a not guilty plea range from £3,000 to £6,000 plus VAT. Our work will include having an initial consultation with you, taking your instructions, considering the evidence, advising you in relation to your case, travelling to and representing you at Court (usually at a first appearance hearing in the Magistrates Court and then at your trial).
Our fees set out above are likely to increase in more complex cases which involve multiple court hearings, the instruction of an expert witness or taking statements from several witnesses. Where there is likely to be any increased costs, we will make sure that you are informed of this at the earliest opportunity and we will provide you with a clear estimate of any additional costs.
Whilst we make every effort to keep you updated on any issues affecting the time it will take to deal with your case, we are not always able to provide accurate timescales of when your hearing will take place as this will depend on the Court’s availability.
COMMERCIAL DEBT RECOVERY
For all our debt recovery matters, we charge on an hourly rate basis based on the hourly rates of our partners set out above. We will always provide you with an estimated breakdown of our likely charges once we have a better understanding of what is involved and always before we start working on your matter.
The following sets out our costs for commercial debt recovery work for claims up to the value of £100,000 against debtors located within England and Wales. Our costs for debt claims above this value will depend on the circumstances of your case and we will be able to provide you with a detailed costs breakdown when we first meet with you.
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For debt claims in relation to unpaid invoices that are undisputed, our fees will range from £2,500 to £7,500 plus VAT for straightforward matters. Our work will include having an initial consultation with you, taking your instructions, advising you in relation to your case, preparing a Letter Before Action (LBA), preparing and issuing a Claim Form and Particulars of Claim, applying to Court to enter Judgment in Default (i.e. Judgment in default of any response from the other side) and writing to the other side to request payment usually within 14 days.
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If payment is not received from the other side, we will then provide you with advice on next steps for enforcement and the likely costs involved.
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The above fees do not include any Court fees or any third-party disbursements, such as Counsel’s fees. In more complex cases, we usually instruct Counsel to prepare the Particulars of Claim where appropriate.
For all other debt claims in relation to unpaid invoices which are disputed, our costs will increase as there will be more work involved. In addition to carrying out the preparation work set out above and issuing your claim, it will be necessary to prepare for a trial either in the County Court or in the High Court depending on the value of your claim. We will provide you with a detailed costs breakdown for all stages of our work leading up to trial and any subsequent enforcement action taken.
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It is difficult to estimate how long your matter will take as this will depend on factors outside of our control, such as how promptly the other side responds to our claim or request for payment and the Court’s availability. We aim to resolve undisputed debt claims within six months of the date of our instruction. For disputed claims that go all the way to trial, the process will take much longer. We will aim to keep you updated on each stage of the process and on any issues affecting the time it will take to deal with your case.
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For all other matters and to obtain a more formal quotation, please feel free to get in touch with us.