Pricing Transparency - Penn Chambers - Civil Litigation

This page gives you the full details of the pricing methodology for Penn Chambers Solicitors

Civil Litigation Team.

If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.

Penn Chambers Limited

Civil Litigation Team

Charging Basis

Our charges are based on an hourly fee basis.

The figures below do not include VAT which will need to be factored into the fees where applicable. VAT is currently applicable at 20%.

Time spent on your case will include meetings with you and others on your behalf; time spent travelling; considering and preparing papers or documents; considering correspondence (including emails, SMS and WhatsApp messages) and making and receiving telephone calls, SMS and WhatsApp messages from you or anyone else related to your case.

It is simply impossible to estimate the number of hours of work to undertake and how long it will take for your matter to complete as this completely depends on the circumstances in your case, whether your application(s) are contested, whether your case has any complicating features and how long it takes any third parties involved, such as the Courts when listing your case.

Charging Methodology

We charge on an hourly basis on top of which we add VAT at the prevailing rate above mentioned. An hour is divided up into "units" of 6 minutes. Each hour, therefore, has ten units. The charges relate to the lead Solicitor with conduct irrespective of the actual person who undertakes the work, as the lead Solicitor is the person with a full day to day responsibility for your case and will oversee the work of others who may undertake work on your file on their behalf.

Each letter, e-mail, fax, telephone call made or received, each WhatsApp message and each SMS is charged as one unit (that is 10% or 1/10th) of the hourly fee charged by the lead Solicitor. Long letters, emails, faxes, telephone calls made or received and each WhatsApp message and each SMS are timed and charged in units of six minutes.

We will review our hourly rates annually around April each year and notify you in writing if we increase our rates which will take effect by 01 June of each year.

Bills must be settled within 14 days.

Other Expenses

In addition to our fees, we charge a fee of £50 plus VAT to undertake a money laundering search. We only charge this fee ONCE per case. This may leave a footprint on your credit file. This is to enable us to pay for an electronic search of various Registers on your behalf to ascertain your identity, check whether you are on a Sanctions List or whether you are a Politically Exposed Person etc. The obligation to obtain this information is imposed upon us by law. Although there are various ways to obtain this information, some cheaper, some more expensive, we have found this to be the least intrusive and cost effective method of obtaining all the information from one source. This is the average cost incurred by us in undertaking the searches and that we pay to a third party for using their system.

If we are required to make urgent payments on your behalf such as a telegraphic transfer fee, more correctly described as a CHAP's payment then we will charge you £35.00 plus VAT for sending the CHAP's payment which covers some administration charges and some actual charges imposed by our bank.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Court fees. By way of example :

A claim amounting to between £5,000.01 to £10,000 is £455
A claim amounting to between £10,000.01 to £200,000 is 5% of the value of the claim
A claim amounting to more than £200,000 is £10,000.

No VAT is payable on court fees.

Forecast Of Costs In A Typical Case

In civil matters, there is no such thing as a typical case in terms of costs or in terms of time. There are a huge range of variables that can affect your case that we simply cannot legislate for in general terms. The costs and time information provided below is intended to be a guide depending on whether your case is defined as

Straightforward; or
Mid Complex; or
Complex; or
High Complex.

We always intend to deal with your case as expeditiously as possible. If your case runs smoothly, we would expect the following costs to you:

Straightforward Undefended Case

1) Our fees for a straightforward civil litigation matter with no complicating features which is not defended will be in the region of £3,000. On top of this, you will need to add VAT at the prevailing rate above mentioned and other expenses (onboarding search fee) above mentioned of £50 plus VAT and payments to third parties known as disbursements in the sum of approximately £600.

The possible time it takes to conclude such a case should be in the region of 3 months to 6 months.

Mid Complex Defended Case

Our fees for a civil litigation matter with no real complicating features which is defended will be in the region of £15,000. On top of this, you will need to add VAT at the prevailing rate above mentioned and other expenses (onboarding search fee) above mentioned of £50 plus VAT and payments to third parties known as disbursements in the sum of say £2,000 (no VAT) (court fee) and £5,000 plus VAT (barristers fee) at the prevailing rate above mentioned.

The possible time it takes to conclude such a case should be in the region of 6 months to 12 months.

Complex Defended Case

Our fees for a civil litigation matter with SOME complicating features which is defended and therefore needs to go to trial will be in the region of £30,000. On top of this, you will need to add VAT and other expenses (onboarding search fee) above mentioned of £50 plus VAT and payments to third parties known as disbursements in the sum of say £5,000 (no VAT) (court fee) and £15,000 plus VAT (barristers fee) at the prevailing rate above mentioned.

High Complex Defended Case

Our fees for a civil litigation matter with complicating features which is defended and therefore needs to go to trial will be in the region of £50,000. On top of this, you will need to add VAT and other expenses (onboarding search fee) above mentioned of £50 plus VAT and payments to third parties known as disbursements in the sum of say £10,000 (no VAT) (court fee) and £25,000 plus VAT (barristers fee) at the prevailing rate above mentioned.

The possible time it takes to conclude such a case could be in the region of 12 months to 18 months.

Please note that currently, cases are taking much longer as the courts deal with backlogs since Covid 19.

The key stages could be as follows:

In simple terms there are 5 stages of a civil claim as follows:

1. Pre action

Before a claim is issued a party should first try to negotiate an agreement to resolve the dispute whether directly, through solicitors or through mediation. If that does not succeed then a party should wherever possible ensure that it has complied with the General Practice on Pre-Action Conduct (PDPAC) set out in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR).

The PDPAC sets out a number of requirements which include sending a detailed letter before claim to the other party setting out thorough details of the case and giving the opportunity for the other party to respond in detail.

One of the PDPAC requirements is to consider Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to resolve the dispute. It is important that it can be demonstrated that this has been properly considered and offered as a method of resolution prior to proceedings being issued.

2. Issuing the claim and exchanging statements of case

If it is decided to proceed further, then the claimant will issue a Claim Form, with an accompanying Particulars of Claim, which sets out the claimant’s case and state the nature of the remedy claimed (such as payment of a specific sum, or for damages etc).

The court will then issue the claim and then service of the claim form upon the defendant will need to take place. Once the defendant is served with the claim, generally, the defendant has 14 days to file an Acknowledgement of Service and a further 14 days to file a Defence.

Once the Defence has been filed the courts will allocate the claim to the appropriate "track", small, fast and multi track.

3. Exchange of evidence

Once the claim has been allocated the court will provide directions (a "timetable" of when certain things need to happen) to the parties. In the small and fast track, these are usually standard with the fast track directions all taking place in the 30 weeks between issue and trial. If the claim has been allocated to the multi-track then a case management conference will often take place and tailored directions will be provided.

The parties will be required to carry out disclosure and exchange witness statements during this time within the timescales set out by the court.

4. Trial

The court will provide a date for the trial and set it for the length of time that it considers appropriate.

During the trial, the court will hear legal submissions, witness evidence and expert evidence (if appropriate).

The court will often reserve judgment except in straightforward cases and the judgment will be given at a later date in an additional short hearing at court.

5. Post Trial – Appeal and Enforcement

If you receive judgment in your favour the other party will be ordered to do/pay whatever the court has decided within a set period of time. If they do not, then you can seek ways to enforce the order.

If you receive judgment against you then you will have the opportunity to appeal this decision. The time frame for appealing provided the right to appeal is granted is usually 14 days from the date of the decision.

When an unforeseen complexity arises or when the way you ask us to proceed means additional work, we will provide you with revised costs information.

Work Included

The above work will involve:

1. Discussing your circumstances in detail and confirming whether this is the most appropriate application for you to make and what other options may be available to you;

2. Preparing your application and submitting it on your behalf;

3. Considering the supporting evidence and helping you obtain further evidence and giving you advice on that supporting evidence if required;

4. Attendances with you, with third parties in the office and at possible other locations;

5. Attendances with you and third parties at Court. If you are required to attend Court, we will give you clear advice at the appropriate time. It is simply impossible to confirm the cost of a Court hearing as this depends upon the preparation required, the hours of attendance at Court, the type of hearing and whether there are any complicating features to take into account. It will also depend on whether we instruct counsel to attend on your behalf and how senior that counsel is;

5. Giving you advice about the outcome of the application and any further steps you need to take; and

6. Giving you advice on any possible appeals that you may make or your opponent may make and the time limits.

How We Assess Our Charge Out Level

Each case is assessed by the level of risk, NOT by the location of the Advisor. Risk is determined by several factors such as the complexity of the matter, the value of the claim and the vulnerability of the client. Depending on these factors and others, we then allocate the work to be undertaken by the appropriate level of advisor. That level of advisor will have a charge-out rate allocated to them.

For example, a very complex matter, with a high value claim will be allocated to a partner level advisor (A4 Level) and a simple case, with a limited claim being made, may be allocated to an assistant level advisor (A2 Level) and so on.

It is on that basis that for example, you may be allocated an advisor who may be located in say, our Sheffield Office, when we also have an advisor say in our London Office, even though you may be based in London. We believe that this ensures that you have best value for money in your particular case.

Charge Out Rates

The range of advisors we have in the Civil Team could be as follows:

A4 Advisor - A Director level Solicitor/Senior Associate level advisor who charges at £500 per hour plus VAT

A3 Advisor - An Associate level Solicitor/Senior Solicitor level advisor/FILEX level advisor who charges at £400 per hour plus VAT

A2 Advisor - An Assistant level Solicitor level/Senior level CILEX level advisor who charges at £300 per hour plus VAT

Factors That May Increase Costs

Please also note that there are factors to take into consideration that could increase overall costs, such as:

If you do not provide us with instructions or return relevant documentation in good time which requires us to chase you for a response;
If third parties do not respond to us in a timely fashion which requires us to chase them for a response;
If the Court take some time in listing your matter; and/or
If experts/third parties file and serve their reports or other documentation late.

When an unforeseen complexity arises or where the way you ask us to proceed means additional work, we will provide you with revised costs information.

How Do We Keep This Information Up To Date?

Penn Group will occasionally make changes and corrections to the above. If we believe that the changes are material, we’ll let you know by doing one (or more) of the following:

(1) posting the changes on our website site, or

(2) sending an email to you (if you are an existing client) informing you about the changes; or

(3) writing a letter to you (if you are an existing client) informing you about the changes.

Penn Chambers

04.03.24

Version 2.9

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