Transparency of fees

Every brief is quoted individually. The fee depends on the nature of the hearing or application, the volume of documents, the number of parties, the time estimate given by the court, whether expert or interpreter evidence is involved, and how urgently the work must be done.

For that reason no published list can be comprehensive. What follows is a guide to the way fees are structured; the figure quoted for your matter will be given to you in writing before you are asked to commit to anything.

Separate fee schedules for family law and for immigration law can be downloaded from the buttons above.

A fixed fee for a defined piece of work is the usual arrangement — for example a single hearing, an advice, or one application. This is the default on direct access matters because it lets the client see the whole cost before starting.

An hourly rate is used where the extent of the work genuinely cannot be estimated in advance. A brief fee with refreshers is used for multi-day hearings, the brief fee covering preparation and the first day and a refresher payable for each further day. Hourly rates are reviewed from time to time and any change is notified in advance.

Written advice or a drafted application in a family or immigration matter typically falls between a few hundred pounds and the low thousands, depending on the papers. Representation at a shorter hearing — a first appointment, a directions hearing, or a case management hearing — is normally at the lower end. Contested final hearings, fact-finding hearings and substantive tribunal appeals are quoted as a brief fee with refreshers.

These are estimates for guidance only and are not an offer. A binding figure is given only in the client care letter or fee agreement for your specific matter.

Any VAT position is stated expressly in the fee quotation. Disbursements — court fees, expert fees, interpreters, and travel where a hearing is outside London — are not included in the advocacy fee and are identified separately.

This practice does not undertake publicly funded (legal aid) work, and barristers may not do legal aid work on a direct access basis. If you may be eligible for legal aid it is usually in your interest to check before instructing privately; eligibility can be checked using the calculator at gov.uk/check-legal-aid.

Written advice is normally provided within 7 to 14 days of receiving complete papers, and sooner where a deadline requires it. Hearing dates are of course fixed by the court. Where a matter is urgent, please say so when you first make contact so that availability can be confirmed straight away.