Solicitors

[thebarron]

Solicitors fees £240 per hour this about right.

[Buenchico]

Watch out for our resident solicitor (Jenna1978) to see what her views are.

However your question could fall into the 'how long is a piece of string?' category. A quick bit of googling suggests that £250 per hour (probably plus VAT, taking it to £300 per hour) is fairly typical and possibly at the lower end of the scale.

However, a couple of years ago, I used a local solicitor to affirm an oath and certify my proof of identity. She did the necessary typing and photocopying herself, and provided me with the relevant signed documentation, taking just over 20 minutes of her time. She charged me a fiver!

Next week's Radio Times has an item headed "Service Top Tips: Get The Best Out of Doctors and Lawyers". It includes this important quote:
"You can ask lawyers very directly what the cost will be, and if it's too much you can shop around"
That sounds like good advice to me!

Chris

[thebarron]

Thanks

[BertiWooster]

Depends on when they were qualified and where in the country they practice

[thebarron]

Its just for dissolving a business partnership.

[mrskc]

I pay £190 for a partner im west mids

[R1Geezer]

that's cheap! My brief said Hello to me the other day and I got a bill for £50!

[Barmaid]

lol, oh how I love these comments on barristers. If only you knew............

[bednobs]

tell us bm!

[ChuckFickens]

Yep...

apologies to thebarron, but do go on BM?

[Barmaid]

Apologies to the barron.

Barristers cannot "cherry pick" cases. We have the "cab rank" rule. This means that as long as it is within their area of expertise and they will be reasonably remunerated they cannot refuse a brief. Thus you cannot say "I don't do publicly funded work".

As for the comment that barristers' hourly rates start at £1,000 per hour, that is the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard. It is well known that it is cheaper to instruct junior counsel rather than solicitors for certain hearings. Certainly as someone less "junior" and with a significant specialism (and having been published and lectured extensively in my field I do have a specialism) my hourly rate is nothing even approaching £240.

My best ever brief fee - and this is less than 10 years ago - involved me prepping a case, travelling for 2 hours each way, waiting in court for 2 hours, and then dealing with a hearing. I received a cheque for ......... wait for it. No actually, you tell me. It hasn't actually won chamber's prize for the lowest ever brief fee but it is close.

Don't get me wrong, I am not pleading poverty, but a grand an hour is just fiction.