OUR FEES​
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Our Fees for Civil Cases
PW-LA are dispute resolution lawyers for civil and employment matters. From our experience, no one case is the same. That is why our service is always tailored to the individual needs of the case, and that includes tailoring our fees to the individual client. We work with clients at each stage of their case to provide them with the best value we can, by applying fixed fees which generally provide a 20% deduction on hourly rate fees.
We do not instruct external barristers and therefore the costs benefits are passed to our clients which generally means a saving of around £5,000 - £15,000.
Due to the varying nature of cases, it is not possible, here, to provide precise information about the fees that will apply to every case. At the outset of every client matter, before we commence work, we assess our potential fees and any other expenses based on the facts of each case. We do not make any charge for our work until we have written confirmation from each client that they have understood and agreed to the costs involved to pursue or defend a claim. Every client is assured that we will always provide them with costs information applied to their own circumstances before commencing any work for them.
We undertake regular reviews of ongoing prospects and those reviews include looking at the costs involved and advising our client on the best strategies.
The length of time a case may take to conclude is based upon various factors that can affect timescales. Both Employment Tribunals and Civil Courts have considerable backlogs for cases coming to trial which means that a case can take anywhere between 12 months to 36 months. Our initial work based on fixed fees for either employment or civil claims sets a turnaround to review and advised you with 7/10 days of receipt of signed terms and agreed funds on account.
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Court fees apply to all stages of civil litigation and are additional to our legal fees. Please see the Court fees at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fees-in-the-civil-and-family-courts-main-fees-ex50.
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​​Please see separate fee tables
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Our Fees for Employers
(Respondents) in Tribunal cases
Fixed Fees
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If you are a business facing an Employment Tribunal claim our fees below are applied where settled through our negotiations:
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Employers - Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached:
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within two weeks £500 (plus VAT)
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within four weeks £750 (plus VAT)
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within six weeks £1,000 (plus VAT)
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Written Advice (Employees & Employers) £195 -£1500 plus VAT​​
​​Employers - Ongoing Conduct pre-trial stages ​
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Taking initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation
(ongoing review of merits and prospects throughout the matter).
Drafting, reviewing and preparing claim or response.
Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party.
Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process.
Drafting and considering a schedule / counter-schedule of loss.
Preparation list of issues and attending preliminary hearing(s).
Considering, listing and exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents.
Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses.
Preparing a bundle index and documents.
Reviewing and advising on the other party's witness statements.
Drafting and agreeing chronology and cast list preparation and attendance at final hearing.
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Fees for the above stages £1,500 - £25,000 plus VAT
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Full Representation Fees Final Hearing
1 day trial (including ongoing case preparation and attendance at trial) £1,000 plus VAT
Subsequent trial days (per day) £500 plus VAT
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No Win No Fee for Employees
(Claimants) in Tribunal cases
Damage Based Agreements ("DBA") - Contingency Fee
​We are conscious that particularly Claimant clients often have limited funds which is why we offer Damage Based Agreement ("DBA") - "NO WIN, NO FEE" funding to all Claimants where we have assessed a case as having at least 51% merit to pursue.
How does a DBA work?
A Damages Based Agreement (DBA) is funding that we agree to provide which is contingent upon the success of your case. It is determined as a percentage of the compensation that you receive if your claim is successful. We may not recover costs from you for more than the total amount under the DBA, which is set once the amount you recover is calculated i.e. £35,000; we would receive £12,250 (inclusive of VAT). If your case is lost we will receive nothing.
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We have conducted many successful claims for Claimants under DBA funding, and have settled claims before trials on a significant amount of claims. It is beneficial to Claimants because you do not have to concern yourself about finding funds to pursue a claim against your Employer.
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What does the Employee pay?
You will not be required to make any payment for representation. Under the terms of the DBA we will retain 35% of any settlement or award. Any expenses (disbursements) such as experts reports must be paid by you, although these only usually arise where there is a dispute about disability or potentially in high value claims where expert evidence is required to give independent opinion on an issue arising in the claim. Any disbursements would be identified and agreed in advance. However, if by order of a Tribunal an expert is required, there is no flexibility to avoid the requirement. Medical reports can cost between £500 to £2,500 including VAT. However, in practice, unless there are complex medical issues challenged by Respondents, where they do not accept medical records, these are usually not required in Tribunal proceedings. It is however, something that must be borne in mind as a potential cost.
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