People who have been subject to defamation, libel or slander, or have had their privacy breached are often concerned or even put off from taking action due to worries about the legal cost. This can be a very real concern.
To help manage your concerns and ensure transparency in your working relationship with us, the approach I take to costs is set out below.
- I will always consider whether or not I can act on your behalf on a no-win no-fee basis. It is not always possible as the case must meet certain criteria -strong case and a defendant with the means to pay any legal costs agreement including that you have a strong case and that or Court order.
- The actual costs that will be incurred with us depend on what we are asked to do. However as well as hourly rates, we are able to offer fixed fee services for letters to potential defendant to tell them to stop what they are doing against you or attempt to settle a potential claim before proceedings are issued. By way of a guide only(and dependent on sight of details of your case) we would usually provide cease & desist and take down letters (£500 plus VAT at 20% per letter ) and letters before claim (£1000-2000 plus VAT at 20% per letter). If there are multiple potential defendants then we can discuss a reduced rate for multiple letters.
- If a fixed fee is not possible, or if your matter progresses past the pre-action stage to issuing legal proceedings, I will seek to provide estimates and to agree a budget with you in advance before any work is undertaken. I will always look to make sure to ensure you are aware of costs at all times.
- Costs are normally charged on a time basis. However, I have extensive experience and expertise (which means I can work quickly and efficiently) and as I am based outside of London with reduced overheads, I can pass the savings onto you in my hourly rates charged.