Hello - question about reasonable solicitor fees!

[elise_07]

Hello!

I am new to the forum and am hoping for some help! I am really struggling to find information on what it is reasonable for a solicitor to bill for.

I have just received an extortionate bill from my solicitor and am trying to understand if items on the breakdown are reasonable.

For example I have been billed 1 hour 50 minutes for drafting a client care letter, terms of business and a costs estimate. I wouldn't have expected to be billed for time spent on preparing a client care letter or terms of business. Is this normal?!

I have been billed for time spent paying counsels fees.

I have been billed for handing over info about the case to a colleague for holiday cover.

I have been billed numerous times for both the partner and my solicitors time discussing my case or for my solicitor seeking advice from the partner. I would have expected to be billed for either the partner or the solicitors time here but to bill for both feels excessive!

Just some example of entries which have made my eyebrows raise!

Can anyone advise what items are usually billable or non billable? Or point me in the right direction for finding out! I have called the law centre, legal ombudsman and SRA and none can provide any advice on determining what items are reasonable to bill for.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Amethyst]

For example I have been billed 1 hour 50 minutes for drafting a client care letter, terms of business and a costs estimate. I wouldn't have expected to be billed for time spent on preparing a client care letter or terms of business. Is this normal?!

Ummm no I wouldn't have expected that either but I'll tag a couple people who will have experience of these things Ula pt2537 Peridot

I have been billed for handing over info about the case to a colleague for holiday cover.

or that.

Goodness me. Have they included all this stuff in a breakdown of their fee ? Maybe you could redact and post it up and I'm sure someone who has experience of billing will pop in with the rules and normal state of affairs ... rather than me just thinking that sounds as outrageous as you think it is !

SRA code of conduct

Fee arrangements with your client

IB(1.13) discussing whether the potential outcomes of the client's matter are likely to justify the expense or risk involved, including any risk of having to pay someone else's legal fees; IB(1.14) clearly explaining your fees and if and when they are likely to change; IB(1.15) warning about any other payments for which the client may be responsible; IB(1.16) discussing how the client will pay, including whether public funding may be available, whether the client has insurance that might cover the fees, and whether the fees may be paid by someone else such as a trade union; IB(1.17) where you are acting for a client under a fee arrangement governed by statute, such as a conditional fee agreement, giving the client all relevant information relating to that arrangement; IB(1.18) where you are acting for a publicly funded client, explaining how their publicly funded status affects the costs; IB(1.19) providing the information in a clear and accessible form which is appropriate to the needs and circumstances of the client; IB(1.20) where you receive a financial benefit as a result of acting for a client, either: (a) paying it to the client; (b) offsetting it against your fees; or (c) keeping it only where you can justify keeping it, you have told the client the amount of the benefit (or an approximation if you do not know the exact amount) and the client has agreed that you can keep it; IB(1.21) ensuring that disbursements included in your bill reflect the actual amount spent or to be spent on behalf of the client;

Might help to post the Client Care letter too actually as that's where the fees should be spelt out.

[2222]

You've seen this?
https://www.sra.org.uk/faqs/contact-...ombudsman.page

And this?: Asking a court to examine the bill

This procedure can be used for any work done by a solicitor, including court work, where you feel the costs are unreasonable. It is known as "applying for a detailed assessment". You can ask for a detailed assessment between one month and a year of getting your bill, before paying in full.

You may have to pay further costs to use the procedure, but if the court reduces the bill by more than twenty per cent, you will not have to pay for the assessment. It is advisable to seek legal advice (for example, from a Costs Lawyer) as to whether this is a good idea before asking for the assessment. You can ask the court to examine the bill even if you have signed a conditional fee agreement.

More information on applying for a detailed assessment, and solicitor's bills in general, is available on the Adviceguide website.

To find legal advice on your bill, Citizens Advice can help, or you can find a Costs lawyer on the Association of Costs Lawyers website.

[ULA]

Sorry to hear your issue with regards to your solicitor’s bill. If I answer each of your issues in turn that may be easiest:

In principle if the solicitor believes they had been retained by you and you have given them instructions in advance of the client care letter being prepared a solicitor can include the time spent preparing the letter in your bill. However, my experience is that many firms do not charge for this time even if they have been retained prior to its preparation. So, the first question is whether you had retained the services of the solicitors prior to you being sent the client care letter. If, however they gave initial advice during a telephone call or an interview and you did not confirm they were to be instructed and then they followed up with a client care letter to you, against which you subsequently instructed them, then they cannot bill you for this.

Linked to this is to ask whether you have a particularly complex case? I would say that nearly 1 hour 50 mins to draft what is effectively template documents, tailored to your specific case is extreme.

In the client care letter, were you given a fixed fee for your case or if not did they provide a range within which the fees would be i.e. “we believe that given the nature of your case and based on the information you have provided our fee estimate will be in the range of £xx to £xx. If this is likely to be exceeded, we will notify you and provide a revised estimate.” If the latter, how does the bill you have received compare with that estimate? If it exceeds the estimate, have you at any time, been notified that your bill is going to exceed the limit of the range they has initially quoted?

Did the information on who would handle your matter, detail the solicitor, partner and their hourly rates of charging?

I would say given some of the charges you have detailed that this is particularly aggressive billing. Depending on your responses to some of my questions I would suggest that before incurring any further cost to get a third party to review your bill that you actually go back to the firm and in the first instance complain to the solicitor who acted for you about the bill. If that does not get a satisfactory outcome, then you can ask for a copy of their complaints procedure and ascertain who their complaints partner is.