Motoring Offences Fees
Askews Legal LLP is fully regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). This means that by law we are required to be fully transparent in our pricing. Below you will find all the information concerning our pricing for Motoring Offences advice and representation.
In some cases, we may be able to obtain legal aid for you. Where legal aid is not available we charge reasonable and transparent fees and in many cases can provide you with a fixed fee so that you will not have to worry about legal costs.
If you have additional questions, please call us on 02476 231000 or email enquiries@askewslegal.co.
Driving Offence Fees
The hourly rate applied will be dependent on the qualification and experience of your Solicitor and these rates are set out below:
- Partner/Member Solicitor: £265
- Senior Solicitor or Head of Dept: (PQE 8yr+) £240
- Assistant Solicitor/Fee Earner: (PQE 3/7yr) £215
- NQ Fee Earner: (PQE 1/3yr) £185
- Paralegals/Trainees: £135
- Support paralegals: £115
In cases in which a guilty plea has or will be entered to a drink driving-related offence, driving without due care and attention, or speeding we charge a fixed rate of £500 + VAT (for a Coventry based court hearing) or £750 + VAT (for courts up to 45mins drive away from Coventry).
This fee will include:
- considering evidence
- taking your instructions
- providing advice on likely sentence
- Attendance and representation at a single hearing at the Magistrates Court
This fee does not include:
- instruction of any expert witnesses
- taking statements from any witnesses
- advice and assistance in relation to a special reasons hearing
- advice or assistance in relation to any appeal
The key stages of your matter are based on the presumption that you have entered a guilty plea and have a date for your hearing.
- Meet with your solicitor to provide instructions on what happened.
- We will consider initial disclosure, and any other evidence and provide advice.
- Arranging to take any witness statements if necessary (this will have an additional cost, depending upon the time to take witness statements which will be charged at our hourly rate).
- We will explain 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.
- We will conduct any further preparatory work, obtain further instructions from you if necessary and answer any follow up queries you have.
- We cannot provide a timescale of when your hearing will take place, as this depends on the court listing for that day.
- We will attend court on the day and meet with you before going before the court. We anticipate being at court for [e.g. half a day].
- We will discuss the outcome with you. If advice is required on appeal, this will carry an additional cost.
It is difficult to estimate how long your case would take at Court as it would depend on the Court listing for that day. In normal circumstances, we would anticipate being at Court with you for up to half a day.
Not guilty plea cases
For example trials, special reasons defences or exceptional hardship arguments we would charge £1500-2500 + VAT
This fee will include:
VAT
All fees are quoted exclusive of VAT, we will charge VAT at the standard rate applied by the Government.
Barristers, Expert Witness, and other disbursement fees
In some cases, we may need to instruct an Expert Witness and/or Counsel on your behalf. Fees charged by experts and counsel generally attract VAT at a rate of 20% and we will agree their fees with you before they are formally instructed. Travel expenses also generally attract VAT at a rate of 20%.
We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. Expert reports are not required in many cases. We will let you know as soon as possible if we consider an expert report is necessary and the fees involved.
Counsel or Expert Fees depend upon the level of instruction and qualification of the expert, costs are likely to be in the region £1,000-5,000 plus Vat.