Criminal solicitor costs

[dba7108]

Ive been in contact with a solicitor regarding a criminal accusation that has been made against me. They want £9k inc vat to basically liase with the police / cps on my behalf up until I am charged or not charged. If it goes to court then additional costs will be added. Roughly another £10 - £15k.

Question:
Can a solicitor see what the police are going to present to the CPS before it is presented or will the police send it straight away without disclosing their case/evidence?

[agtlaw]

dba7108 said:

Ive been in contact with a solicitor regarding a criminal accusation that has been made against me. They want £9k inc vat to basically liase with the police / cps on my behalf up until I am charged or not charged. If it goes to court then additional costs will be added. Roughly another £10 - £15k.

Question:
Can a solicitor see what the police are going to present to the CPS before it is presented?

No.

That's more than 10x what I would consider reasonable solicitors' fees or making reps pre-charge.

What is their basis for justifying such a high quotation? What's their hourly rate? Does that include expert or other fees? (e.g. counsel)

[gt_12345]

dba7108 said:

Ive been in contact with a solicitor regarding a criminal accusation that has been made against me. They want £9k inc vat to basically liase with the police / cps on my behalf up until I am charged or not charged. If it goes to court then additional costs will be added. Roughly another £10 - £15k.

Question:
Can a solicitor see what the police are going to present to the CPS before it is presented or will the police send it straight away without disclosing their case/evidence?

Shouldn't the police show YOU the evidence during interviewing?

(Assuming you're innocent, good luck)

[dba7108]

There is no evidence presented to me at this stage. It is one word against another.

I was arrested and bailed. I am guessing I will go back for another interview or the case will be dropped.

To answer AGT this is what the solicitor sent me:

"Once the police refer the case to the CPS for an 'Advice re Charge' my aim will be to make representations to the CPS to drop the case. It may also be possible to persuade the CPS to downgrade the offence to a less serious one. We will have to wait to see what happens but I will update you as we progress.

We charge a fixed fee of £9k inc vat for all our work pre-charge. This covers initial advice, file setup costs, written advice, liasing with the police and making representations to the CPS prior to you being charged."

AGT - They dont offer an hourly rate just fixed fee. Thanks

[agtlaw]

dba7108 said:

There is no evidence presented to me at this stage. It is one word against another.

I was arrested and bailed. I am guessing I will go back for another interview or the case will be dropped.

To answer AGT this is what the solicitor sent me:

"Once the police refer the case to the CPS for an 'Advice re Charge' my aim will be to make representations to the CPS to drop the case. It may also be possible to persuade the CPS to downgrade the offence to a less serious one. We will have to wait to see what happens but I will update you as we progress.

We charge a fixed fee of £9k inc vat for all our work pre-charge. This covers initial advice, file setup costs, written advice, liasing with the police and making representations to the CPS prior to you being charged."

AGT - They dont offer an hourly rate just fixed fee. Thanks

I can see 3 hours there.

£3000 an hour?

Go elsewhere.

[vroomtshh]

I'm currently in a similar situation (albeit in scotland)

I was £300 for pre plea work. There was then a plea hearing (at which case we made no plea which means the PF continues the case and my lawyer can see the evidence) and for the next stage, I've been quoted £900. AFAIK currently, there is zero evidence other than one persons word so theres not really anything to see, but it seems like a huge difference in cost

[speedyman]

That's outrageous, they should be in the dock not you.

[dba7108]

I think they are playing on a we can fix the situation angle. It was another £15k if it goes to court. Im unsure if that's £15k an hour or for the complete trial. Looking on companies house they have only been going for 2 years.

How do you choose a good solicitor? I want good advice and not to be ripped off.

[Panamax]

dba7108 said:

How do you choose a good solicitor? I want good advice and not to be ripped off.

That is precisely the problem. It's more important to have someone who does a good job than who will do a cheap job.

You haven't described the nature of the alleged offence so it's difficult to put a value on the outcome. A few points for a motoring offence is very different from a potential jail term for assault.

A couple of years ago I knew someone with similar problems in connection with quite a serious alleged offence. The total cost of getting the desired outcome - 12 months best behaviour and then in the clear - was c.£9,000

The way we achieved this was by side-stepping solicitors completely and going straight to Counsel (i.e. a barrister, expert in the field). Some barristers can take direct instructions from the client and others can only take instructions through a solicitor. What we used was a "direct access" barrister.

The particular chambers/firm used in that instance was "23ES" otherwise known as 23 Essex St Chambers. They have people in Manchester as well as London and obviously travel to wherever their services are required. Their people are the real deal.

You could do worse than phone 23ES on 020 7413 0353 and ask to talk to one of the "barristers' clerks" who will be happy to talk you through how they work and so on. There's nothing to lose.
https://www.23es.com/

[whimsical ninja]

As others have said, £9k is extortionate pre-charge. I suppose it's possible that costs could reach that much if the case goes to trial, depending on complexity, but the amount of "liaison" they would do with police is minimal - all they'd be doing would be sending a couple of chaser emails if a decision was a long time forthcoming, and as for "make representations to the CPS" - I've never heard of that and it sounds like BS tbh.

Once interviewed and bailed there probably isn't much for them to do until the police/CPS decide to charge, at which point they will definitely start earning their money.

Get proper legal advice, get a proper solicitor, but go through the SRA or similar to choose if you haven't got a referral or recommendation. If the case is simple then you won't need an A-grade firm but get a semi decent one whatever the case is.

Complexity of cases differs hugely. For a starting point, if the case goes to Crown Court it will inevitably be a lot more complex than if it's tried in the Magistrates' Court.

As for the OP's question, no the police won't disclose their case to the defence firm pre-charge. Some basic details would have been disclosed at the point of arrest/interview but these don't have to amount to much. Once charged, then the evidence would have to be outlined at the first court hearing.

Edited by whimsical ninja on Monday 6th March 15:32

[surveyor_101]

dba7108 said:

Ive been in contact with a solicitor regarding a criminal accusation that has been made against me. They want £9k inc vat to basically liase with the police / cps on my behalf up until I am charged or not charged. If it goes to court then additional costs will be added. Roughly another £10 - £15k.

Question:
Can a solicitor see what the police are going to present to the CPS before it is presented or will the police send it straight away without disclosing their case/evidence?

Jesus I thought Alex (Alec) Murdaugh was struck off and in jail!


£250 an hour thats 36 hours to talk to the CPS, is this outside the M25!

My Barrister was only 1k a day!

[surveyor_101]

gt_12345 said:

Shouldn't the police show YOU the evidence during interviewing?

(Assuming you're innocent, good luck)

They may present elements and ask you to explain things, in the course of a good please interview they should challenge you with all evidence, so you can make your mind up what to plead.

However that doesn't always happen.

Edited by surveyor_101 on Monday 6th March 20:05

[littleredrooster]

surveyor_101 said:

...in the course of a good please interview they should challenge you with all...

Do you ever read what your fingers have just typed?

[Dibble]

littleredrooster said:

surveyor_101 said:

...in the course of a good please interview they should challenge you with all...

Do you ever read what your fingers have just typed?

It wouldn’t make much difference if he did. For someone claiming to be a former police officer, he’s clearly forgotten a lot.

[105.4]

£9000 pre charge?
And another £10’000-£15’000 before PCMH?

I’m speechless !

Even at 10% of those numbers I’d think it was a bit steep, even for a highly complex case.


edited to add;

You’re not a former lodger of another PH’er on here called Charlie are you?

[essayer]

Seems a massive gamble for £9k as well, how likely is it that CPS will drop it down after deciding to charge?

[105.4]

essayer said:

Seems a massive gamble for £9k as well, how likely is it that CPS will drop it down after deciding to charge?

Plus CPS will always try it on for the highest / most serious charge anyway.

[dba7108]

What is the general consensus when there is no evidence and it's someone's word. Is the victims statement enough evidence in itself?

[105.4]

dba7108 said:

What is the general consensus when there is no evidence and it's someone's word. Is the victims statement enough evidence in itself?

It depends on which direction the political winds are blowing.

[Mr Miata]

Stupid question, but aren’t you entitled to a free lawyer when under questioning in a police station and then legal aid if it goes to court?

And doesn’t the limit for legal aid increase, the more serious the alleged offence?

Edited by Mr Miata on Tuesday 7th March 00:57