Fees

Our family lawyers charge on the basis of the time they spend dealing with a client’s case. Predicting with absolute accuracy the amount of time the lawyer will spend dealing with a case, which is after all a one-off with unique facts, is a very imprecise science. We provide our clients with estimates of our likely fees, and regular updates, as the case progresses.

Fixed fees for divorce, dissolution of civil partnerships, preparing parental responsibility agreements, preparing Living Together Agreements, Pre-Marital Agreements, and Pre-Civil Partnership Agreements are available. Please contact Elizabeth Hodder or Julie McDonald and they will be pleased to quote a fixed fee for you based on the particular circumstances of your case.

Payment Options

We recognise the clients going through divorce, separation or relationship breakdown are experiencing financial strains. We offer a number of ways to address the question of payment of legal fees as the case is ongoing. Speak to Elizabeth Hodder or Julie McDonald then they will discuss the various options with you at your initial assessment interview.

Please note that we have not undertaken Legal Aid work since 2007.

Tips for Reducing Costs

1. Agree a Policy for Correspondence

We do not send unnecessary correspondence e.g. bare acknowledgements of every piece of correspondence we receive.

We do send drafts of all substantive proposed responses to correspondence, to our clients to approve.

2. Avoid sending us an email and then telephoning to check we have received it or asking for a response before we have had time to prepare one.

3. Agree a policy of how often you should receive updates and whether you require “no news to report” updates periodically.

4. Providing information/documents please respond promptly to requests for information and documents which will save us having to chase for them. Please also ensure you provide all full responses rather than partial ones.

5. Do not allow emotions to get in the way.

6. Avoid using your lawyer as a counsellor. The hourly rate of a divorce counsellor is likely to be much less than that of your lawyer.

7. Be realistic about timescales; we will tell you how long it is likely to take your case to be concluded. We cannot influence how quickly the Courts (or our opposite numbers) work.

Do not expect others to work as fast in your case as we do!