Fees and Funding

Legal Aid

Finsbury Law Solicitors can provide legal aid to fund your case in matters relating to criminal, housing, immigration and family law.

 

Depending on the area of law, there are different criteria for whether your case is eligible for legal aid. Furthermore, your income may also need to be means tested to see if you qualify for funding. Sometimes funding can be granted fully. However, depending on your income, savings or assets, you may have to make a contribution to your costs.

 

Our experienced staff can advise you on whether you may be eligible for legal aid.

 

We provide Legal Aid for criminal law, family law, immigration and housing law matters to clients who are unable to pay their legal costs.

 

Funding is granted and paid by the Legal Aid Agency.

 

Legal Aid is available for only certain types of cases. For example, in criminal law matters, legal aid is available if the likely sentence upon conviction is imprisonment. In family law matters it is available if children services are seeking to remove a child from your care, or if you have been a victim of domestic violence. In immigration law matters, legal aid is available if you are seeking asylum. In housing matters, it is available if you face homelessness because your landlord intends to evict you or because your accommodation is unsuitable due to disrepair amongst other reasons.

 

This is not an exhaustive list and the Legal Aid guidance on the merit test is very complex. Please contact us and a member of the respective team will be able to provide you with more guidance. Alternatively, you can find more information on www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid.

 

Below are the documents we require from you for your Legal Aid Application.

If you are in receipt of Benefits (Universal Credit, ESA, JSA, DSA) please provide the following:

• Proof of Benefits e.g., a letter from the DWF
• The letter should not be older than 3 months and should include information as to whether your benefit is income or contribution based.
• 3 months bank statements from all your accounts (current, savings, credit card etc. Please note if you have a partner who you live you will need to provide their bank statements also

If you are self-employed, please provide the following evidence of you income:

• Bank statements which span 3 months prior to our consultation which show your business income/expenditure and where relevant, your cash book for the last month
• Your Profit and Loss accounts AND your most recent self-assessment tax return and tax calculation sheet.
• Your personal bank statements (current, savings, credit card etc.)
• Expenditure – what you can deduct from your income in order to meet the requirements threshold
• Evidence of your housing costs covering the last 3 months. (It is only possible to deduct rent, bills and council tax cannot be deducted. Where you are a homeowner and pay a mortgage, you will need to contact one of our advisors to discuss the documents required
• Evidence of your childcare costs
• If you make child maintenance payments – evidence of your payments for the last 3 months

If you are employed or unemployed and not in receipt of benefits please provide the following evidence of you income:

• Evidence of your income
• Bank statements from all your accounts (current, savings, credit card etc.)
• Your most recent Payslips spanning 3 months (i.e., if paid weekly, your last 12 payslips or if paid monthly, your last 3 payslips) for each job you have
• If you receive any Benefits in Kind (please bring your P11D tax form)
• If you receive Tax Credits (please bring your most recent Tax Credit Award Notice
• If you receive any other income, please bring the following:
• Pension documents (private and occupational, showing gross figures and tax deducted separately)
• Letter of support from a family member or friend
• Student loan letter (awarding letter)
• Child maintenance received within the last 3 months
• Expenditure - what you can deduct from your income in order to meet the requirements threshold
• Evidence of your housing costs covering the last 3 months. (It is only possible to deduct rent, bills and council tax cannot be deducted. Where you are a homeowner and pay a mortgage, you will need to contact one of our advisors to discuss the documents required
• If you make child maintenance payments – evidence of your payments for the last 3 months

Private Funding

If you wish to instruct us privately, we can assist you by providing a bespoke and affordable private funding arrangement.

Please contact us to discuss your requirements.

Our current hourly rates are set out below.

All fees are subject to VAT charged at 20%.

• Partners                              £300
• Consultant Solicitors        £250
• Legal Executives               £150 - £185
• Trainees                              £150
• Caseworkers                      £120 - £150

Privatley Funded Motoring Offences

 

The most common motoring offences dealt with include but are not limited to driving without due care and attention (careless driving), Travelling in excess of the speed limit (speeding), Driving under the influence of drink or drugs, No Insurance & Failing notify the name of driver.

Type of fee: Fixed Fee/ Legal Expenses Insurance.

Costs: In order to provide you with the most information about costs, we will provide you with a fixed fee quotation. Each fee is calculation on a case by case basis taking into consideration the complexity of the matter, anticipated number of hours of work, the number of court and other attendances required. Typically, the average fee for a single attendance to enter a guilty plea is £500 and representation at trial is £1500.00. We can give you a more accurate estimate once we have more information about your specific case.

All fees are subject to VAT charged at 20%.

Please check your car insurance policy to check whether you have Legal Expenses Insurance that may cover the costs. If you are unsure, please contact us, so we can check on your behalf.

 

Who will carry out the work?

• This type of work is typically carried out by a Partner (with a minimum of 10 years post qualification experience) or a Solicitor (with a minimum of 5 years post qualification experience)
• All work is supervised by a Partner, who retains ultimate responsibility and conduct of matters
• The Fixed Fee will depend on the circumstances in your case. Such as:
  • The amount of supporting evidence that we need to consider
  • The need for an interpreter (if required as well the need to instruct an expert)
  • Whether it is a straightforward guilty plea
  • Unforeseen complexities

 

What Services are included in this cost?

• 2 hours initial attendance to take initial instructions on what happened
• Examination and the provision advice on initial Prosecution disclosure and any other evidence
• Provision of advice on likely sentence
• Detailing the key issues
• If relevant, meeting with you before your first hearing at the Magistrates Court
• Explaining the court procedure to you so you know what to expect on the day of your hearing, and the sentencing options available to the court.
• Where relevant, conducting any further preparatory work such as obtaining further instructions from you and dealing with any follow up queries you have. Typically, this is more common during preparation for trial
• Attendance and representation at the first hearing at the Magistrates Court (and at trial where relevant)
• Explaining the outcome of each hearing with you

 

 Are there any costs that are not included?

• Disbursements such as petrol (charged at 45p per mile), parking charges or travel by public transport
• Instruction of any expert witnesses. Expert reports can cost upwards of £1000 
• Advice and representation at a special reasons hearing, approximately £750 
• The cost of a specialist barrister to attend court on your behalf. The approximate cost of a barrster is £500 per day, to attend court
• Our fee for attendance and/or preparation for any further hearings following the initial hearing (Approx. £500.00 per hearing) such as where your sentence hearing is held on a separate date to your first hearing
• If relevant, advice on any appeal. Separate fees can be agreed for the below:
  • Dealing with any appeal
  • Drafting grounds of appeal
  • The cost of fully preparing any appeal
  • You will be informed as soon as possible if any of the above applies in your case

 

What are the likely timescales?

• It is difficult to provide a timescale of the total time it will take your case to conclude as it initially depends on when the court lists your first hearing
• Typically, matters can conclude on the day of the first hearing or within 4 to 6 weeks thereafter if the case is listed for a further hearing for sentence
• Trials are normally listed within 3 months of the date of the first hearing

Privately Funding Immigration Matters

All fees are subject to VAT charged at 20%.

 

• Immigration Applications - £1500
• Premium (Same day) service to the Home Office - £1000
• Naturalisation - £800
• Registration of children - £500
• Entry Clearance Application - £800
• No Recourse Applications - £600
• TOC/NTL Applications - £500
• Revocation of Deportation Order - £1000
• Airport Emergency - £1000
• Representation to Home Office - £800

 

 Court Work

• Bail applications to the First tier Tribunal - £750
• Representation at bail hearings - £750
• Lodging grounds of appeal to the First tier Tribunal - £500
• Court representation in the First tier Tribunal - £1,200
• Representation at Case Management Reviews - £500
• Applications for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal - £300
• Representation at the Upper Tribunal - £600
• Judicial Review - £1,500
• Renewal of JR application - £800
• Court representation at Judicial Review permission hearing - £ Dependant on Counsel’s fee
• Court representation at Judicial Review substantial hearing - £300 and Counsel’s fee

 Who will carry out the work?

• Your matter may be worked on by a Solicitor (with a minimum of 5 years post qualification experience), Trainee Solicitor or Caseworker.
• All Trainees and Caseworkers are supervised by a Solicitor.
• All Solicitors are supervised by a Partner.

 

Costs:

In order to provide you with the most information about costs, we will provide you with a fixed fee quotation. Each fee is calculation on a case by case basis taking into consideration the complexity of the matter, anticipated number of hours of work, the number of court and other attendances required. Typically, our fixed fees for the following matters are:

•  Home Office Applications & Visas from £1,250
• Appeals to the Appellate Authority (AIT) from £2,500.00
• Specialist Visa Types from £2,500
• Judicial Review from £1,800 depending on the complexity.
• Asylum (Written Submissions) from £750
• Please note that express work may attract higher fees, typically starting from £1,500

 

What is included in these costs?

• Taking instructions from the client
• Providing advice letter and list of supporting documents
• Assisting with the collation of documents in support of the visa application
• Completing the visa application form for client’s review
• Liaising with relevant third parties and the UK Visas and Immigration on behalf of the client
• Providing submissions in support of the application
• General case preparation/management
• Providing post visa grant advice and assistance; and
• Reporting to the client.

 

Are there any costs that are not included?

• Attending the Home Office interview with you;
• Accompanying you and the barrister/counsel to your hearing (Court/Tribunal)
• Hearing Representation
• Disbursements are not included. These are mostly Home Office Fees and it depends on the type of application. The fees are subject to changes from time to time and are available on the UK Visas and Immigration website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table. Disbursements may include courier fees and translation fees. These would be quoted for in each individual matter and agreed before proceeding.
• Should you wish to request for the above additional services, we would quote you a fixed fee based on your requirements

 

What are the likely timescales?

Timescales are dependent on the application type, circumstances of the application, complexity, and the visa expiration date (where applicable).

We aim for a turnaround of four weeks for straightforward applications (applications without additional complexities or complications) and, depending on the circumstances, a longer period of time (potentially a few months) for complex applications. We advise our clients on the anticipated time frame for each individual instruction at the outset confirm if an application was considered as complex. Please note that the time frame within which the application can be completed is dependent on the timely provision of the relevant information by the client.

 

The UK Visas and Immigration department have set processing times based on the type of the application and method of submission: https://www.gov.uk/visa-processing-times.