· No legal advice will be given in this call – it is to assess only if we can take the case on or not.

· There is no charge for this call – We offer this as a courtesy service to our clients. You will however need to provide proof of ID and address before this call

If your case is suitable for direct access, a one-hour conference will have to be arranged by telephone, video, or in person. The standard fee for that conference is £250 + VAT.

You will be sent a client care letter which is your contract with us, we will set you up as a client on our client software programme. We will need you to send your email and phone contacts to enable us to set you up in the programme. The client care letter MUST be signed before we can act further.

The fee for the first conference must be paid before the meeting takes place. If the fee has not been paid at least 48 hours in advance, the conference will be cancelled.

If, after the first conference, you then wish to instruct us that can be arranged at the end of the meeting.

We will either do work on a fixed fee or at our hourly rate (£250ph). If we agree to work on a fixed fee that is JUST for the work agreed – it will not include you calling us on a regular basis or emailing us on a regular basis and if you do that you will be billed for that “additional time” pro-rata our hourly rate.

All are subject to confirmation, and are plus VAT.

None of the fees include travel to any court outside of County Durham or Tyneside or accommodation. 

Train travel will have to be 1st class so I can work on the train. 

Accommodation (B&B) will be needed if a case is listed for more than 1 day or if I have to travel the night before to be at court the next day.

1. Initial conference £250 

2. Written advice on child dispute £650 to £1,200  

3. Preparation of case £750 to £1,500

4. First Hearing and Dispute Resolution Appointment (FHDRA) £1,000 to £1,200

5. Dispute Resolution Appointment (DRA) £1,250 to £1,500  

6. Fact Finding £2,000 + for 1 day.

Refresher £1,250 to £1,600  

7. Final Hearing £2,000 to £2,750 for 1 day

Refresher £1,750 

8. Permission hearing £1,000 to £1,250   

9. Urgent hearing (PSO etc.) £1,000 to £1,500   

1. Initial conference £250

2. Court attendances only - £800 less than 1/2 day (in County Durham or Tyneside) otherwise , £1,200 half day, £2,000 full day 

2. Directions/Case Management Conference fast track, intermediate track £850   

3. Directions/Case Management Conference multi-track £1,000   

4. Trial fast track, intermediate track £2,500 (1 day) 

5. Trial multi-track £2,500 to £3,250 (1 day) 

Refresher £1,500 

6. Enforcement/Variation £1000 to £1,250 

7. Conference pre issue £300    

8. Conference within proceedings £300   

1. Initial conference £250 

2. Guilty plea / sentence Magistrates Court £1,200
3.  Not guilty plea £800
4.  Preparation of Magistrate’s Court case £1,000 to £1,500
5.  1 day Magistrate’s Court trial £2,000 to £2,500
6.  Sentence crown court £1,250   

3. Trial crown court £2,500 - £2,750 for 1 day

Refresher £1,750 

4. Preparation of crown court case £1,500 to £3,000 

1. Initial conference £250 

2. Written advice on financial dispute £750 to £1,250  

3. Preparation of case £750 to £1,750 

4. FDA £1,000 to £1,500 

5. FDR £1,750 to £2,500 

6. Final £2,500 to £4,000

Refresher £1,600 to £2,200 

ALL FEES ARE PLUS VAT. 

Where I CAN I will ALWAYS offer fixed fees. 

It may not be possible to give you a fixed fee to the end of your case as circumstances may change - I can in most cases provide a fixed fee for the next stage in any case.

I DO NOT need you to instruct a solicitor and then have them also instruct me. 

If you do have solicitors acting you MUST dismiss them and send me all of your case papers before I can act. 

CRIMINAL CASES - MAGISTRATES OR CROWN COURT - NOT GUILTY 

I can act on criminal cases from your first attendance at court through to trial if pleading not guilty. I can offer fixed fees based on the complexity of the case. What should be the normal amount of prep needed and the number of pre trial hearings through to a 1 day trial. Of course the fee quote will have to change if your trial is listed for more than 1 day. The quote will include all prep and travel costs. 

I will beat any written quote you receive from another direct access barrister (of equivalent call) or from a firm of solicitors. JUST SEND AND ASK.

HIGH VALUE CIVIL CASES - COMING ON RECORD 

I can (but only if I have the time) act on some civil cases by coming on record and dealing with the case from start to finish - however that will only be on high value civil disputes. 

I can offer fixed fees based on what should be the normal amount of prep needed on the case + the number of pre trial hearings through to a 1 day trial. 

If any witness statement or position statement has to be drafted you will have to do the first draft but I can prep them for court.

Of course the fee quote will have to change if your trial is listed for more than 1 day, or if other hearings are listed e.g. Strike Out Applications or Relief from Sanctions Hearings. The quote will include all prep and travel costs. 

OTHER CIVIL CASES - AGREED PREP AND ATTEND HEARINGS 

I can act on on all other civil and family cases by doing an agreed amount of prep and/or drafting on the case and attending an agreed number of hearings. In these cases I DO NOT come on record, You will be a litigant in person. I offer fixed fees based on the agreed work required.

DRAFTING 

I offer drafting services e.g. letter before action, claim forms, particulars of claim, defences, applications etc.  I offer fixed fees based on the agreed work required.

If I draft anything and it needs to be sent to the court or uploaded on e.g., E-filing, you will have to arrange that. I cannot as I am not on record. You will be a litigant in person. 

I need to be paid in  full before I do any drafting. 

I can also prepare court bundles. 

ATTENDING HEARINGS ONLY 

I can attend any court hearing anywhere in England and Wales at a fixed price, you may have to meet my travel costs (1st class train ticket costs or mileage rate) and accommodation (B&B) costs, plus disbursements (e.g. photocopying, postage etc) 

If you book me to attend a hearing that mean it is only pencilled in. The booking is NOT CONFIRMED until you pay a 50% holding deposit. 

If someone calls and pays a holding deposit before you, you will lose the booking. 

If I attend court for you and I have to prepare e.g. a skeleton argument, or comment on your position statements, or if I am ordered to draft the order after the hearing, I will have to charge additional fees for my time. 

If you want me to prepare a bundle for a hearing, I have bundling 

software and I can do that at an additional fee. 

If I am travelling a long distance I may have to come the night before so a B&B will have to be charged and if the case is listed for more than 1 day, I would need a B&B and meals for the additional days. 

I am willing to give all clients a 15 minute free telephone consultation you must call the office to set up an appointment on 0191.3692383. This call is simply to understand if your is a type of case I can take on and I will check my diary for free dates. To be clear it will only be for 15 minutes.

In most cases I will require a 1 hour call with you to discuss the case - this is charged at £250 + vat.

I will not accept numerous calls or numerous emails for you to "seek clarification" before instructing me as if you do that then the time will be billed.

If I quote a price for a trial and it then goes off for judgment to be given,  or for sentence to be issued to another date, then a further fee will have to be agreed.  
 

If you instruct me to attend trial on a civil case, tribunal or mediation and you have prepared the case yourself then you shall accept that I will only be able to put forward the case you have claimed or are defending.   

It is not uncommon for court hearings to be cancelled adjourned or settled. Where this happens the client will still be liable for fees, the level of which will depend on when we have notice of the cancellation or adjournment. 

The reason for this is that when a hearing is fixed Barrister John Brown is instructed and will have blocked out his diary and will have read into the case. 

For cancelled or Adjourned Hearings, the following regime will apply:
 

a) where hearings are adjourned or cancelled, with less than seven days’ notice both the preparation fee and the attendance fee is payable in full. 

b) where hearings are cancelled or adjourned, with more than seven days’ notice but less than 14 days, half the attendance fee is payable as well as the preparation fee in full.
 

c) where hearings are cancelled, adjourned, with more than and fourteen days’ notice but less than 30 days’ notice then the attendance fee may be refunded at our discretion, but the preparation fee is not refundable. Where no preparation fee was agreed, then half the attendance fee is payable.  
 

d) the client remains liable for any disbursement incurred regardless of when the hearing was cancelled or adjourned.
 

e) where cases are cancelled with more than 30 days’ notice, the attendance fee and preparation fee maybe refunded at our discretion, save in the event of settlement.
 

f) where cases settle in advance of any hearing, the full attendance fee and preparation fee is payable. Settlement includes in civil cases any sort of judgement and in regulatory cases a decision by a prosecuting authority to not prosecute or discontinue the matter.