Funding

Privately funded criminal defence lawyers

We try and be as transparent as possible when discussing costs.

Our lawyers may charge fees based upon an hourly rate as agreed from the outset. They will provide estimates as to total likely costs. These estimates will be regularly updated.

Alternatively, we can agree a fee for representing you either in respect of a particular stage of a case or for the case in its entirety.

Private client charging rates per hour

Our hourly charging rates as at April 2022 are detailed below. Our rates are considered for review in April each year.

Solicitor with over 10 years experience or equivalent £300 plus VAT

Solicitor with over 5 years experience or senior case worker £200 plus VAT

Legal protection insurance

In many cases legal protection insurance or legal expenses insurance is available either as standard or as a bolt on to existing insurance policies that many individuals or businesses hold. If you are unsure as to whether your policy covers you then we can look into this for you.

Legal aid

A number of our lawyers act on legally aided cases. We can advise you as to whether legal aid is available, whether it is suitable for your case and whether we are prepared to undertake your case on a publicly funded basis.

There are limits to what legal aid will cover, for example, legal aid is not available during the criminal investigation stage save for the actual attendance at an interview under caution. It does not cover crucial areas such as preparation for the interview or work undertaken following the interview. This is arguably the most important stage of a case.

If your case is in the crown court legal aid will not necessarily cover the most senior barristers and it would be rare for it to cover Queen’s Counsel.

In some cases, it may not be economically viable for us to conduct your case on a legally aided basis.

Costs in the crown court – ‘Recovery of Defence Costs Order’

Costs are not normally awarded to an acquitted defendant. This is unfair. The only exception is if the defendant had applied for legal aid and was refused legal aid based upon his or her means. Sometimes it is therefore necessary to go through the motions of applying for legal aid simply for it to be refused. We can do this for you.

For further information or an informal discussion please contact us on 0161-945-2299.