Our Fees

De Jure Chambers has a team of highly qualified and experienced solicitors ready to provide you with specialist legal advice. We offer our services on an hourly rate basis which means our charges will be based on the amount of time spent working on your matter. All our fee earners charge £300.00 +VAT per hour. You can find more information about our fee earners and their experience in ‘The Team’ section of our website. We also have a dedicated team of Paralegals and support staff who assist our fee earners in their work.

We will never undertake work without first discussing it with you and we will not incur any fees without prior approval. As each case is unique, we will discuss your case and provide you with individual quotes before undertaking any work.

Under the Solicitor Regulatory Authority (SRA) Transparency Rules, we are required to provide costs information for some of the services we offer. All the fees provided below are estimates only and do not form an offer or a fixed fee basis. The below have been compiled based on our previous experience and the industry averages.

PROBATE

Costs

Our fees will be incurred based on the number of hours spent working on your matter. We will be able to periodically advise you as to the time we will need to spend on your matter and the corresponding cost.

In simple cases where there is a valid Will, there are no assets outside of the UK, there is no disputes between the beneficiaries and where there are no claims made against the estate, we estimate that our fees will be in the region of £10,000 (excluding VAT and any disbursements).

In complex cases where there are multiple beneficiaries and diversified assets and potentially foreign assets, where inheritance tax is payable, where there are commercial real estate interests, our fees could reach the region of £60,000 (excluding VAT and any disbursements).

If you chose to instruct us, we will be able to give you more specific costs advice.

Services Included in the Price

Obtaining instructions
Reviewing the Will
Identifying legally appointed executors
Meeting with executors to discuss the estate and probate process
Identifying all assets and liabilities in the deceased’s name
Arranging for a simple valuation of the property
Obtaining any valuations which may be required by HMRC
Completing relevant HMRC forms
Where applicable, drafting a legal Oath
Obtaining Probate
Preparing the inheritance tax return and arranging payment of the inheritance tax
Collecting all assets of the estate
Preparing a final estate statement or simple estate accounts
Distributing all assets in the estate
Finalising the tax position of the estate

Services Not Included

The above estimates are for simple probate cases where the estate is not contested. Further, they do not take into account probates with international assets, cases with no Will (which are likely to incur additional costs); or other matter which make the case more complex and thus result in a prolonged process.

Disbursements will be further charged during your case. These are costs payable to third parties, such as court fees.

The likely disbursements are:

Probate Application fee – £155

Official copies of the Grant of Representation – £1.50 per copy
£3 Official copes of the Land Registry title of the deceased’s real estate
Bankruptcy Search – approx. £2
‘Section 27 Trustee Act 1925’ Advertisement in the Local Newspaper(s) – approx. £150-£300

Unknown disbursements include inheritance tax, executor insurance and fees for accountants and surveyors.

Timescales and Key Stages

On average, it can take up to a year finalise probate. The time to spent on the file may increase if third parties take longer to respond or if there are unexpected complications. The time estimates for more complex estates will be longer.

The usual steps that need to be undertaken include:

Obtaining the Grant of Probate

Collecting assets

Distributing assess

Finalising tax return and estate accounts

MOTORING OFFENCES

The fee estimates provided below relate only to minor road traffic offences which are hears in a Magistrates’ Court.

Costs

On average, we can expect to spend between 5 to 15 hours on preparing a straightforward Guilty plea case. As we charge £300 per hour, this means we would charge a fee between £1,500 to £4,500 (excluding VAT and any disbursements) for an average case. For a more complex case, for instance if you plan to plead Not guilty, our fees will increase correspondingly to the number of hours we spend working on your matter.

There will be additional travel expenses if we need to attend court and will depend on the court’s location.

If you chose to instruct us, we will be able to give you more specific costs advice.

Services Included in the Price

On average the work included in the estimates consist of considering the evidence, discussing your case with you, taking instructions from you, and advising you. Particularly, we will advise on possible sentences and court procedure.

If you plead guilty, our estimates include the preparation of the plea and mitigation for the court.

If you plead not guilty, you case will be more complex and will require us to take and draft your statement. We will advise you on the strength of the evidence against you and will prepare for trial.

Services Not Included

The above estimates are likely to be affected by the number of appearances in court as well as the distance required to travel to the court. The above do not include fees for additional work that may need to be carried out, such as taking statement from witnesses.

Disbursements will be further charged during your case. These are costs payable to third parties, such as court fees, fees for instructing experts or fees for instructing counsel.

Our fee estimates do not include advising on appeal.

Timescales and Key Stages

We are unable to advise on exact timescales as this will depend on the court listings. Courts are facing increasing delays due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

IMMIGRATION

The below estimated do not include asylum applications and related work.

Costs

Below we have set out average fees for certain visa types. The below does not encompass all types of visas and does not amount to a fixed fee.

Tier 1	£5,000 – £15,000
Tier 2	£1,500 – £5,000
Tier 4	£1,500 – £5,000
Tier 5	£1,500 – £3,500
Ancestry Visa	£2,500 – £5,500
Settlement in the UK (Indefinite Leave to remain) non-Points Based System	£2,500 - £8,000
Settlement in the UK (Indefinite Leave to remain) Points Based System	£2,500 - £15,000
Dependent relative and family reunion applications	£5,000 - £10,000
Standard Visitor	£2,000 - £5,000
Overseas Domestic Worker visa	£5,000 - £10,000
Applications for British Citizenship	£2,000 - £5,000

If you chose to instruct us, we will be able to give you more specific costs advice.

Services Included in the Price

The work which we will usually carry out and which is considered in the fee estimate includes:

Taking instructions from you and
Discussing your circumstances and advising on the most appropriate application for you to make
Advising on the requirement of the Immigration Rules, whether you meet the requirements, and if you do not, if any remedial action can be undertaken
Providing you with a list of necessary documents in information needed to support your application
Considering the evidence you have provided
Preparing the relevant application and submitting them
Booking any necessary appointments
Drafting a covering letter in support of your application
Liaising with the Home Office regarding your application where necessary
Advising you on the outcome of you application

Services Not Included

The above quotes estimate does not contain costs as to advice and assistance in any appeal if the Home Office refuse your application.

Disbursements will be further charged during your case. These are costs payable to third parties, such as Home Office fees for making the application, interpreter fees, translation fees, costs of independent expert report(s), Immigration Health Surcharge costs, Criminal Record Certificate (which depend on the country from which it is being obtained), Tuberculosis Testing, costs for Subject Access Requests, etc.

Timescales and Key Stages

All applications differ and the exact number of hours it will take to prepare you application will depend on the individual circumstances of your case. This includes:

Complexity of your case
Time it takes you to collect and provide us with the required documentation needed in support of your application
Urgency of you application
Whether its an initial application or an extension
If we need to liaise with third parties such as medical experts and whether expert reports are required
If Counsel needs to be instructed to provide written advice

We cannot guarantee how long the Home Office will take to process you application. The Home Office has set out their service standards here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration/about-our-services

EMPLOYMENT (UNFAIR DISMISSAL OR WRONGFUL DISMISSAL)

The below estimates are concerned with bringing and defending ‘unfair dismissal’ and ‘wrongful dismissal’ claims before the Employment Tribunal.

Costs

Our fee estimates are as follows:

Simple case	£10,000 - £20,000 (ex. VAT)
Medium complexity case	£20,000 - £40,000 plus VAT
High complexity case	£40,000 - £80,000 plus VAT

Cases of medium or high complexity will typically include claims additional to the claims of wrongful or unfair dismissal. High complexity cases will likely involve claims of discrimination or whistleblowing.

If you chose to instruct us, we will be able to give you more specific costs advice.

Services Included in the Price

De Jure Chambers will assist you with your claim from beginning to end and we have set out the usual key stages of an average claim below:

Taking your initial instructions
Reviewing the papers
Advising you on merits/likely compensation
Engaging in early conciliation
Preparing claim or response
Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party
Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process
Preparing or considering a schedule of loss
Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing
Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents
Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses
Preparing bundle of documents
Reviewing and advising on the other party's witness statements
Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list
Instructions to and liaising with Counsel
Preparing for and attending the final hearing

Services Not Included

Disbursements will be further charged during your case. These are costs payable to third parties, such as court fees or fees for instructing counsel.

The estimated costs can be higher if you case is more complex. Factors which affect the complexity of a matter include:

Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person
Complex preliminary issues
Number of witnesses
Volume of documents
Allegations of discrimination or whistleblowing
Making or responding to additional applications (for example: applications for specific disclosure, to strike out a claim, to seek additional time to take a step in the process)

Timescales and Key Stages

The timescale for the resolution of your matter will depend on the stage at which the case is resolved. This can occur as early as the conciliation stage or might occur only upon completion of the final hearing. If there is no early resolution of a case and a claim proceeds to a final hearing it can last as long as 12 months, or beyond if the matter is more complex. At the same time, not all stages set out above might be necessary and the matter may take just a few weeks if early conciliation is successful.

DEBT RECOVERY

The below estimates are concerned with debt recovery up to the value of £100,000.

Costs

Out costs estimates apply in cases where the debt recovery is in relation to an unpaid invoice which is not disputed and enforcement action is not needed. On average this type of work will take between 5 to 50 hours to complete. This means average costs ranging from £1,500 to £15,000 (excluding VAT and any disbursements).

If you chose to instruct us, we will be able to give you more specific costs advice.

Services Included in the Price

The work which we will usually carry out and which is considered in the fee estimate includes:

Taking your instruction and reviewing documentation
Undertaking appropriate searches
Sending a letter before action
Receiving payment and sending onto you, or if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing the claim
Where no Acknowledgement of Service of Defence is received, applying to the Court to enter Judgment in default
When Judgment in default in received, writing to the other side to request payment
If payment is not received within an agreed specified timeframe, providing you with advice on next steps and likely costs

Services Not Included

The services not included in the above estimates are costs for enforcement of a judgment, additional applications, costs of other parties that the court may order you to pay, additional costs of your claim is disputed, costs for advice and appeal in case your claim was dismissed.

Disbursements will be further charged during your case. These are costs payable to third parties, such as court fees, expert fees, mediator’s fees, or fees for instructing counsel. There will also be additional costs for enforcement action payable to the court.

Court hearing fees are set out below:

Claim amount	Fees
Up to £300	£35
£300.01 to £500	£50
£500.01 to £1,000	£70
£1,000.01 to £1,500	£80
£1,500.01 to £3,000	£115
£3,000.01 to £5,000	£205
£5,000.01 to £10,000	£455
£10,000.01 to £200,000	5% of the claim
More than £200,000	£10,000

Timescales and Key Stages

The time it will take us to prepare you claim will depend on the complexity of your case and the volume of files in support of you case. We will discuss with you the timelines for your case after you instruct us as we will be in a better position to estimate the time it will take to review the evidence. We will also keep you updated on next steps and timelines for next steps throughout your case.

Before issuing a claim, there are Pre-Action Protocols that need to be complied with to facilitate communication with the other side. The time that this will take will depend on the willingness of both sides to discuss their case.

For the above reasons, we are unable to estimate how long it will take to prepare your case and we are unable to give accurate estimated for the time needed before issuing your claim. We also cannot guarantee how long the court will take to process any claim that you make.

VAT

All of the estimate fees indicated below are exclusive of VAT. VAT is applicable at the standard rate of 20% and will be charged when we bill you.

VAT on any disbursements will be discussed with you before incurring the disbursement. Whether VAT in included and/or payable on a disbursement will depend on individual circumstances.