Our Fees in typical Motoring Matters

Drink-driving offence, guilty plea – fixed fee £850 plus VAT

Case conducted at by a specialist criminal defence solicitor of at least two years post qualification or by a paralegal criminal defence lawyer of at least 7 year experience.

Fee includes:

• 2 hours attendance/preparation:
  • Requesting and considering prosecution evidence
  • taking your instructions
  • providing advice on whether the plea is appropriate and on likely sentence
• Attendance and representation at a single hearing at the Magistrates Court by  solicitor or by a barrister advocate of at least equivalent experience and expertise
• Confirming and advising on the outcome in writing and any next steps including any advice on appeal.

Key Stages

The key stages of your matter in this example are based on the presumption that you have entered a guilty plea and have a date for your hearing.

• Meet with your solicitor in person (or via Video if preferred) to provide instructions on what happened.
• We will consider initial disclosure, and any other evidence and provide advice on whether a guilty plea was properly entered on the facts and your instructions
• We will advise you whether you have an arguable case in law to put forward ‘special reasons’ why mandatory disqualification should not apply
• Arranging to take any witness statements if necessary (this will have an additional cost, at our hourly rate).
• We will explain the court procedure to you so you know what to expect on the day of your hearing, and the sentencing options available to the court.
• We will conduct any further preparatory work, obtain further instructions from you if necessary and answer any follow up queries you have.
• We cannot provide a timescale of when your hearing will take place, as this depends on the court listing for that day.
• We will attend court on the day and meet with you before going before the court. We anticipate being at court for half a day but will make no additional charge if the case exceeds half a day provided the case concludes on that day.
• We will discuss the outcome with you and confirm it in writing together with our advice on whether an appeal against sentence is possible.
• We will, as applicable to the facts of your case and , advise you whether and how the length of any disqualification can be reduced or in certain cases, you can apply for the return of your licence before the end of the disqualification period.
• We will offer you a fixed fee of £350 plus VAT for up to another half day of court time  if the matter is adjourned to be concluded on another day.(Other than a ‘Special Reasons’ hearing)

A word about ‘Special Reasons’

There are some cases where the facts of the case make it possible to argue that the law does not require a person who is guilty of a drink-drive offence to be given the mandatory disqualification.

These cases are unusual, but not rare, and they depend entirely on the very specific facts of the circumstances of the offence events. They are argued on  law, and are not about mitigation.

If your case needs special reasons to be argued the court will usually fix a day for that hearing, which in many respects will be like a trial and may need expert evidence. We will advise you whether this is a viable option based on the facts of the case and your instructions.