Finances
Public funding
There is limited public funding available for representation at the Magistrates’ Court. Public funding is means tested. We are used to managing such situations, applying for legal aid, and arranging representation on a budget, or assisting with a letter to the Court setting out, in accordance with your instructions, how you wish to proceed.
At the Crown Court the means testing is more generous however information is also required as to assets held. The Legal Aid Authority at the conclusion of a case will seek to recover the costs of the case in the event of a conviction. At the conclusion of a case where appropriate representations will be prepared and submitted to the trial Judge as to the apportionment of costs, the extent to which a defendant should be require to contribute.
If income is over the public funding threshold it is sensible to consider an application for legal aid as if refused public funding, but later acquitted, it will be possible to seek to recover some costs at the conclusion of the case.
We are required to be in receipt of funds in order to arrange representation. Private clients can make payments by bank transfer, credit or debit card.
Please be aware of the increase in cybercrime and fraud. If you receive an email purporting to be from someone at Reynolds Dawson which seeks to direct a payment to bank details which differ from those which we have already given to you by us it will not be genuine. Please do not reply to the email nor act on any information contained in it but contact us immediately.
Staff Associations
Reynolds Dawson are familiar with the arrangements that afford Officers representation and to working within those, and other staff association parameters.
Insurance
At Reynolds Dawson we are experienced in working with insurers under policies that allow for the holder or members of the holder’s family to be represented.
Some insurers have preferred solicitors; Reynolds Dawson is recognised by a number of insurers (ARC Legal; AIB and others).
Private funding
Our aim is always to be open and transparent as to the cost of defending any criminal case, discipline hearing, Inquest, or providing advice and assistance. We will provide you from the outset with the hourly rates applicable to the fee earner who is to have the primary conduct of your case. This hourly rate will be exclusive of VAT. We will endeavour to provide you with a realistic, global estimate as to costs at the commencement of the proceedings, but it will be appreciated that very often there are developments in any case which can cause costs to rise unexpectedly, such as the service of additional evidence, additional hearings or jurors being in retirement, unexpected delays generating further Court appearances, and matters of that kind. You will be kept advised as to costs throughout the course of the case.
In privately funded matters, we will provide revised costs information at appropriate intervals and when necessary. It is sadly impossible to provide an "average cost" in relation to any particular case, as the nature and extent of the work which is undertaken is so inherently varied and potentially can range from a quite straightforward matter to a case of immense complexity and substance. We will obviously differentiate between legal costs incurred by reference to the services provided by the Practice, and disbursements (e.g. barristers' fees, medical fees, private investigators etc). We will make it clear whether these costs are inclusive, or exclusive of VAT. We will at all times seek to provide you with the best possible information about how the matter will be priced, and the likely overall cost. At any given time, we will obviously be happy to discuss issues in relation to costs with you to ensure that you are being kept appropriately and properly advised as to both the likely costs involved, as well as the potential recovery of any costs in criminal proceedings in the event of an acquittal under a Defendant's Costs Order. It should be noted that costs awarded under a DCO are calculated at prevailing legal aid rates, and not reimbursed on the basis of the rates necessarily charged by reference to the fee earner who undertook the work within the Practice and are only available where a defendant has applied for legal aid and been refused.
We will advise as to the applicable hourly rate in relation to the fee earner who has the primary conduct of your case; the hourly rates within the Practice range from £120.00 to £375.00 per hour.
In certain instances, such as minor motoring offences, we can agree a fixed fee. For example, in relation to a straightforward guilty plea to a speeding allegation where there is no risk of disqualification, a fixed fee of £900.00 may apply in relation to taking instructions, instructing Counsel, and dealing with attendance at the Magistrates’ Court to mitigate the matter on your behalf. Similarly, we are open to seeking to agree fixed fees in other cases, but very often there are so many “variables” in the conduct of a criminal or misconduct matter, it is impossible at the outset or in the early stages of such a case to reasonably and accurately determine a fixed fee.
