Advice on the cost of a lawyer / barrister for a 2 day hearing

[noname123]

I currently have an employment tribunal case against my employer. There is a 2 day hearing scheduled. My employer will hire a solicitor and barrister for those 2 days.

What I'd like to know is how much do you think the legal fees would be for a barrister and lawyer in a 2 day hearing? The reason I ask is I am considering trying to settle the case and I want to know how much it would cost them in legal fees. So I know what their final bill will be even if they win (they will most likely have to pay their own legal costs even if they win)

I feel like I am in quite a good negotiating position as I assume their fees are going to be pretty high. The value of my claim will only be around £20,000 and I assume their fees for the 2 day hearing would be around £10,000. So I was hoping maybe I could settle for £10,000 - £12,000 on the basis that they will have to pay a figure similar to this anyway even if they win. Plus if we settle they will have the benefit of a confidential settlement rather than a public hearing which could make the company look bad.

The company has a history of being very stingy and a bit hostile to employees but I would assume they are willing to take emotion / personal grudges out of the equation and do a sensible cost / benefit analysis of settlement vs fighting it in court.

Thanks for your advice

[paulajayne]

From a google search:_

As a guide, barristers' fees are in this range: Under 5 years experience: £75 – £125 per hour + VAT. 5-10 years experience: £125 – £275 per hour + VAT. 10-15 years experience: £150 – £450 per hour + VAT.

Answer is it depends.

[ULA]

It will depend entirely on the type of claim you are making, the complexity of the case and the seniority of the lawyer and barrister involved and the chambers the barrister operates from. So this is very much an average figure and is just for attending the hearing and does not take into account the work that has gone into the case by the lawyer up to the hearing.

Barrister's fees could be in the region of £4k to £8k
Lawyers fee in the region of £4k to £5k based on fees ranging from upwards of £250 per hour

This really is a very rough idea.

[noname123]

Hi thanks for your replies. Yes I understand it's a very rough figure. Knowing roughly what their legal costs will be win or loose helps me with negotiation.

Lets say that for example their future legal costs will be £10,000. Is there any logical reason that they wouldn't settle for £8000. Surely this would be a sensible approach seeing that even if they win they will be paying more than this.

Or don't companies tend to think that way? Do they just accept the legal costs regardless of the fact that they could definitely save money by settling?

[Nomoneynoproblem]

Hi thanks for your replies. Yes I understand it's a very rough figure. Knowing roughly what their legal costs will be win or loose helps me with negotiation.

Lets say that for example their future legal costs will be £10,000. Is there any logical reason that they wouldn't settle for £8000. Surely this would be a sensible approach seeing that even if they win they will be paying more than this.

Or don't companies tend to think that way? Do they just accept the legal costs regardless of the fact that they could definitely save money by settling?

In my opinion I don't think you need to worry much about the legal fees of the respondent. If you surely have a strong case and 95% in your favour depending on the nature of your case there is a formula in place that the Tribunal will use to determine compensation. I am assuming you wish to settle before the commencement of the tribunal if that were to be the case you will need to go into negogiation with your employer. What are the odds that they might not wish to settle and proceed with the case where will that leave you. The art of negogiation is you knowing what you fall back position in a nutshell how much exactly do you want out of this. Assuming it's £20k you will need to go in around the £35k mark at the same time be able to justify why..you can then start to negogiate downwards until you reach the £20k which is acceptable.

Regards

NMNP