How much does a criminal solicitor cost?

A criminal solicitor costs between £350 per hour and £500 per hour.

But that doesn’t necessarily tell you the whole story. How much your case ends up costing depends on the complexity of the case, and how long it lasts.

You may also be eligible for free legal representation, if you qualify for legal aid.

Fixed fees

To give you some certainty on how much you can expect to spend on legal fees, we sometimes give fixed fees for an agreed amount of work. That means that we agree a figure at the outset, and we don’t go over that figure.

If you need more legal work and we’ve reached the agreed limit, we give you another fixed fee for the additional work.

Hourly rate with an estimate and agreed limit

The most common way that criminal solicitors charge for their services is by an hourly rate.

More senior solicitors will have a higher hourly rate than junior solicitors.

At Harewood Law our rates are:

·       Senior solicitor: £500 per hour plus VAT at 20% (£100)

·       Solicitor: £350 per hour plus VAT at 20% (£70)

·       Paralegal: £250 per hour plus VAT at 20% (£50)

We record the time we spend on the case, and then charge accordingly.

The sorts of things that take up our time on a criminal case include things like: meetings, preparing witness statements, reviewing documents, examining evidence, preparing your legal statements of case, and attending court to represent you.

However, we’re conscious that our clients don’t want costs to spiral unexpectedly. That’s why we give you a cost estimate at the outset. We can also give you a cost limit to make sure that costs don’t go above a certain level.

If we reach the estimate, and there is still work to be done, we’ll have a conversation with you about the next steps.

Insurance funding

You may have an insurance policy in place that covers the cost of your legal fees. Sometimes this is included in your household insurance policy.

If you think you have insurance, we can speak to your provider and find out if they are prepared to support your case.

Disbursements

Disbursements are separate to legal fees and will be charged on top.

Disbursements include things like the cost of travel, barrister’s fees, court fees, and expert witness fees.

Legal aid

Some people qualify for legal aid, which means that they don’t have to pay for legal fees privately. Their case is funded by the public purse instead.

Legal aid is means tested, so if your household income is below a certain level, then you’ll qualify for legal aid. It’s also merits tested so it depends on the seriousness of the crime that you’re accused of. It’s not available for most driving offences.

Generally, trials in the Crown Court automatically pass the merits test. If you have an annual household disposable income under £37,500 then you’ll qualify under the means test too. But be aware - even if you do get legal aid for your case, you might be ordered to pay a contribution towards your legal costs at the end of the trial.

If you want to find out more about legal aid, we can discuss whether you’re eligible. You’ll need to provide us with some financial information about yourself and your partner. That’s things like your benefits, joint income, savings, spending, and national insurance numbers.

Free advice

In criminal matters, you have the right to free advice at certain points. For example, when you’re questioned at the police station, you have the right to ask for a solicitor to be present, free of charge.

If you ask for a solicitor from Harewood Law, we’ll send someone straightaway.  

General steer on costs

As we said at the start, it’s impossible to put a precise figure on how much your case will cost. As a general steer, cases in the Magistrates Court are simpler and cheaper than cases in the Crown Court and Appeal Courts. So more complex and more serious cases will have higher fees because they last longer, and have more complicated facts to prove.

Clarity up front

We always do our best to give you an indication of costs from the outset. We can give you the hourly rate of the solicitor dealing with your case, and we can give you estimates and fixed fees. We set everything out in our Terms of Business that you receive when you start working with us, and we explain how we charge our fees at the first meeting you have with us.

If you’d like to speak to us about progressing your case, please book a consultation with us by emailing info@harewoodlaw.com or calling us on 0333 344 8377. Our out of hours emergency line is 0333 344 8366.