Our approach at Tedstone George & Tedstone is to provide the highest quality specialist advice in a way that is right for you and at a price that you can afford.
Our hourly rates are set out below:
- Solicitors and Legal Executives with over eight years’ experience – £255
- Solicitors and Legal Executives with over four years’ experience – £218
- Newly qualified solicitors, second year trainee solicitors and experienced paralegals – £177
- First year trainee solicitors and junior fee earners – £126
We will add VAT to these at the rate that applies when the work is done.
At present, VAT is charged at 20%.
For a more specific indication as to likely future costs, please contact us or make a fixed fee thirty-minute appointment on 01785 712243.
There are a number of things that we advise our clients to help them keep their costs down, not all of them will be applicable to your matter but a lot of our clients have found these few simple rules helpful guidance.
1. Always try to take into account the long-term consequences of actions and communications. Often things said or done in the heat of the moment can take many months to rectify. This will often lead to protracted correspondence between solicitors and may increase the risk of your matter having to go to Court.
2. Discuss with your solicitor what information you wish to routinely receive. Your solicitor will be happy to send you copies of all correspondence received and sent but this will increase your costs. It may be more practical to agree with your solicitor or case handler that they will only forward on correspondence that requires your response or approval.
3. Avoid acting because “it’s the principle of the matter”. Whilst it is always nice to have principles, very often these principles can cost you a lot, both emotionally and financially. If it is possible to work around conflict with a bit of negotiation or compromise it will always be better to try.
4. Balance the benefit that can be obtained against the likely costs both financially and emotionally. When emotions are high, sometimes things that would not normally have been important suddenly become paramount. In short this means don’t spend lots of money arguing over things that actually have little real value because the costs in doing so may very quickly become disproportionate to the item itself.
5. Always be responsive to your solicitor. The more time that your solicitor spends chasing you for a response or for outstanding information the more your fees will increase. This can become particularly important if your matter is taken to Court where Court deadlines will mean that your solicitor has to chase you more frequently to ensure that you do not miss these important deadlines.
6. Be organised. If your solicitor needs any information or documents, please provide it to them, such as but not limited to:
- Bank statements
- Receipts
- Correspondence
- Accounts and tax returns
- Information
It will always be possible for your solicitor to collate this information for you, but the more time that they spend doing so, the greater cost you incur.
7. Think before you pick up the phone or send us an email. Each time you telephone us or email us it may incur charges. Something that feels urgent when you first consider it may not feel so urgent once you have had time to consider it. Sometimes it is necessary to send us an email or make a telephone call and we will respond to you as quickly as possible. Chasing us incurs fees.