At Magsino Solicitors, we believe that clients should understand from the outset how legal fees are calculated and what they are likely to pay for the work we undertake on their behalf.

Legal work is professional work. The advice we provide requires the time, knowledge, experience, professional judgment and responsibility of a qualified legal professional. Every client’s circumstances are different, and the amount of work required will depend on the particular facts and legal issues involved.

Our aim is therefore not simply to offer the cheapest service, but to provide clear, proportionate and professional advice while being transparent about our charges.

Initial Consultation – £99 for 30 Minutes

We do not offer free legal consultations.

Our standard initial consultation fee is £99 for up to 30 minutes.

The consultation allows us to listen to your circumstances, identify the main legal issues, consider the information you provide and give you preliminary advice about your available options and possible next steps.

The consultation fee reflects the professional time and expertise devoted to considering your individual circumstances. It is not merely a charge for having a conversation. During the consultation, the solicitor may need to consider applicable law, procedure, risks, timescales and the practical consequences of the different options available to you.

Where your matter requires documents to be reviewed before or during the consultation, particularly substantial or complex documents, we will let you know whether an additional fee will apply.

An initial consultation does not automatically mean that we have agreed to act for you in the substantive matter. If you subsequently instruct us, we will confirm separately the scope of the work we have agreed to undertake and the fees applicable to that work.

There is no single fee that can properly apply to every legal matter.

The overall cost of your case will depend upon a number of factors, including:

* the nature of your legal problem;

* the individual circumstances of your case;

* the complexity of the factual and legal issues;

* the amount of documentation and evidence involved;

* the amount of correspondence or communication required;

* whether third parties, government departments, courts, tribunals or other organisations are involved;

* the urgency of the matter;

* the level of preparation and legal research required;

* whether unexpected issues arise during the course of the case; and

* the experience and expertise required from the lawyer dealing with your matter.

A relatively straightforward matter may require considerably less professional time than a complicated case involving extensive evidence, urgent representations, litigation, an appeal or difficult points of law.

For this reason, our fees reflect the work actually required and the professional responsibility involved in dealing with your case.

Wherever reasonably possible, we will provide you with a clear indication of the likely professional fees before substantial work begins.

Depending upon the type of matter, we may offer:

* a fixed fee for an agreed and clearly defined scope of work;

* an estimated fee;

* charging based upon the time spent dealing with the matter; or

* a combination of these arrangements.

Where a fixed fee is agreed, it will apply to the specific work described in our Client Care Letter or Terms of Business. Work falling outside that agreed scope may be charged separately.

An estimate is not necessarily a guaranteed maximum fee unless we have expressly agreed otherwise in writing.

Legal matters do not always develop in the way anticipated at the beginning.

Additional work may become necessary because of matters such as:

* new evidence or information;

* unexpected developments;

* additional correspondence;

* requests from the Home Office, courts, tribunals, police, opposing solicitors or other organisations;

* changes in your instructions or circumstances;

* additional applications or hearings;

* urgent deadlines;

* further legal research;

* previously undisclosed issues; or

* circumstances outside our control.

Where we consider that a material amount of additional work is required, we will endeavour to inform you, explain why the additional work is necessary and provide an updated indication of the likely costs before that additional work is undertaken, where practicable.

Some matters require immediate attention or significant work within a short period of time.

Urgent instructions may require us to rearrange existing professional commitments, work outside normal office hours or allocate additional resources to your case. Where an urgency or priority fee applies, this will normally be discussed with you before the work is undertaken.

Similarly, highly complex matters may attract higher fees because of the level of expertise, preparation, legal analysis and professional time required.

When you instruct a solicitor, you are paying not only for the minutes spent speaking to you or preparing a document.

Our fees also reflect the training, experience, legal knowledge, professional judgment and regulatory responsibility required to advise and represent you properly.

Behind a letter, application, representation or piece of legal advice may be considerable work involving reviewing documents, analysing evidence, researching the law, considering risks, preparing a strategy and ensuring that relevant procedures and deadlines are followed.

Our professional time is therefore an important part of the service we provide and is charged accordingly.

Our professional fees are separate from payments which may have to be made to third parties. These are commonly referred to as disbursements.

Depending upon your matter, these may include court or tribunal fees, Home Office fees, expert fees, interpreter or translation fees, counsel’s fees, medical report fees, process-server fees and other third-party expenses.

Where possible, we will identify anticipated disbursements separately so that you understand which amounts are our professional fees and which amounts are payable to third parties.

The basis upon which we charge for our work will be explained in our Client Care Letter and Terms of Business.

Before substantive work begins, you will normally be provided with information explaining:

* the work we have agreed to undertake;

* the basis upon which our professional fees will be calculated;

* any agreed fixed fee or estimate;

* anticipated disbursements where known;

* payment arrangements; and

* any important limitations relating to the agreed scope of work.

We encourage clients to read these documents carefully.

We want our clients to understand how their legal costs are being incurred.

If at any stage you have a question about our fees, an invoice, an estimate or the work being undertaken, you are welcome to raise it with us.

Our objective is to provide professional legal services with clarity and transparency, while recognising that every case is different and that the time, complexity, urgency and expertise required will vary from one matter to another.