Simons Rodkin Solicitors Fee Structure

Please note that all prices on this page are estimates and depending upon the circumstances of your matter the price may vary. The fee earner dealing with your matter will confirm costs with you.

We have offices in North London (Finchley, N3), Central London (Bloomsbury WC1) and Hatfield (Hertfordshire).

There are a number of ways in which we charge. We are flexible and reasonable about our fees and display our charging rates below.

Time Charge Basis

This is the traditional method by which solicitors charge. Our rates are competitive and are based upon the location of our main office in North London Finchley. Our fees range from £250 – £310 an hour exclusive of VAT for Partners and experienced consultants to £100 – £140 per hour for our paralegals. The work of our junior staff is supervised by more experienced solicitors to check that it is carried out correctly.

At the very inception of the matter, we will send you a client care letter setting out our terms and a cost estimate. In litigation matters, there may be some manoeuvrability in costs depending on the seniority of the fee earner engaged with the case and the level of experience of counsel who we instruct to advise and represent you.

2022 Charge rates
Partners	£220 – £310 per hour exclusive of VAT
Consultant Solicitors	£200 – £310 per hour exclusive of VAT
Consultant Barristers	£200 – £310 per hour exclusive of VAT
Associate Solicitors	£150 – £200 per hour exclusive of VAT
Trainee Solicitors	£120 – £150 per hour exclusive of VAT
Paralegals	£100 – £140 per hour exclusive of VAT
Administrative Staff and Work Experience	£100 per hour exclusive of VAT
Non-Legal Consultants	£120 – £250 per hour exclusive of VAT

Legal Expense Insurance

If you have a policy and we can secure cover, then insurers will pick up the legal costs – subject to the terms of the policy.

We are regularly appointed as non-panel solicitors, and we have agreed charging rates with legal expense insurers (typically circa £160 per hour exclusive for our insured work).

You will be responsible on a time basis for any pre-insurance work prior to cover being granted. Securing the grant of cover can be difficult and it is usually necessary to support an application for cover with counsel’s opinion containing at least a 51% prospect of success.

This cover is frequently contained in business insurance and home content policies.

There is also a statutory right to choose your solicitors once proceedings have been issued.

We are from time to time appointed when our clients have lost confidence in their panel solicitors to represent them, and we apply to take over the conduct of the case. Alternatively, please come to us with your policy, and we will make the application for cover with you. Unless you have a very strong claim, we do not advise leaving the assessment of the merits to panel solicitors based upon your completion the claim form. It is not uncommon for us to complain/appeal the rejection of the claim following an application made by the insured themselves.

Fixed Fees

In appropriate cases (such as some property and conveyancing transactions and wills) we may agree to quote a fixed fee for an item of work. All fixed fees must be agreed in writing. If you would like a fixed fee, please ask the fee earner dealing with your matter.

No Win No Fee

Most cases are not appropriate for a No Win No Fee and are dealt with on a privately paying basis.

All cases will need an initial consultation to consider the merits of the case and that meeting is paid for on a private basis.

Where there is a reasonably strong claim of success, with counsels’ advice of at least 60% chance of success we may be able to offer a No Win No Fee or a partial No Win No Fee. In all cases, counsel needs to accept to be engaged on a No Win No Fee basis.

It is not uncommon for us to send the papers to counsel to see if they are willing to take the case on this basis. Some counsels vet the papers for free while others do charge for this.

We will charge our fees on a time basis to secure counsel on a No Win No Fee basis.

You will be required to pay all disbursements up front although if you are successful, they may be recovered.

Legal Aid

We do not possess a legal aid franchise and cannot help under the legal aid scheme.

Contacting our firm

We do not charge for initial telephone calls which typically are 5 -10 minutes.

We can arrange if you wish an initial fixed fee meeting which will range from £100 to £310 plus Vat depending on the length of the meeting agreed and the seniority of the fee owner and the location of the meeting.

We are a very approachable firm; please contact us so that we can give you an indication of what our costs may be to deal with your case / represent you.