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Motoring Offences

Our fixed fees for Motoring Offences.

Motoring Offences

  • How much will it cost?

    In certain circumstances you may be eligible for legal aid and if you are, we can help you apply. That said, it’s unlikely that you’ll get legal aid if you’re charged with what’s known as a ‘summary only’ offence.

    These are cases that can only be heard in Magistrates court, such as:

    • Speeding
    • Failing to stop after an accident
    • Driving without insurance
    • Driving a vehicle whilst over the prescribed limit for alcohol or drugs
    • Failing to provide a specimen
    • Careless driving
    • Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence


    In these instances we charge by the hour and the fees vary according to the seniority and expertise of the person dealing with you. Letters and telephone calls will be charged at up to 10% of the hourly rate.

    Hourly fees are outlined below;

    • Partner - £272 per hour plus VAT at 20% being £54.40 (£326.40 inclusive of VAT)
    • Senior Solicitor - £233 per hour plus VAT at 20% being £46.60 (£279.60 inclusive of VAT) 
    • Solicitors - £189 per hour plus VAT at 20% being £37.80 (£226.80 inclusive of VAT)
    • Trainee Solicitor or Paralegal - £134 per hour plus VAT at 20% being £26.80 (£160.80 inclusive of VAT) 

    Examples;

    A speeding case at a local court where there is a guilty plea will take about an hour. If a partner was to attend therefore fees would be £272 plus 20% VAT being £54.40 (£326.40 inclusive of VAT)

    If there is to be an argument as to not banning and special reasons or severe hardship are to be argued then its likely to be anything from 2 to 5 hours depending on the amount of information required and witnesses. If a solicitor was to attend fees would be from £378 plus 20% VAT being £75.60 (£453.60 inclusive of VAT) to £945 plus 20% VAT being £189 (£1134 inclusive of VAT) 

    If the case is not guilty and a trial then it will take a couple of hours more in advocacy time and preparation .


    Key Stages

    • Initial requests for information or documentation from a prosecuting agent such as the police. As a guide we would expect to get this around 5 days before the first hearing.
    • Responding to such a request
    • Receiving a court date and obtaining the evidence so that we can advise you on plea
    • Attending (in person, remotely or by correspondence) the plea hearing. If a not guilty plea is entered then the trial will be about 8 weeks following the first         appearance but this case vary court to court. 
    • Attending a trial, contested hearing such as exceptional hardship/special reasons or sentence hearing
    • Advice on appeal – many people approach us after they have been convicted and sentenced.  We can provide a review of the case and provide advice on the merits of an appeal. We would give advise on the day of the appointment and then follow that up with a written letter. 
    • Cases have their own facts and circumstances. We can offer our services on a fixed fees basis, but we'll take into consideration the complexity of the case to assess your plea. 


    Timescales 

    • For guilty plea cases, this will depending on the court date for the final hearing. For not guilty pleas the average timespan is 3- 6 months.


    Fixed Fee

    If your case can be dealt with on a fixed basis, then our costs for summary only motoring offences are as follows:

    • One hearing for a guilty plea and mitigation or first attendance  entering not guilty plea and arranging a trial date, our fixed fee ranges from £500 plus 20% VAT being £100 (£600 inclusive of VAT) to £1000 plus 20% VAT being £1200 (£1,200 inclusive of VAT)
    • Attendance at a single hearing to deal with a guilty plea and mitigation. Where the court is over 30 minutes from our nearest office, our fixed fee ranges from £750 plus 20% VAT being £150 (£900 inclusive of VAT) to £5,000 plus 20% VAT being £1000 (£6,000 inclusive of VAT)
    • Exceptional hardship hearings/summary trial from £1,250 + 20% VAT being £250 (£1500 inclusive of VAT) to £5,000 plus 20% VAT being £1000 (£6,000 inclusive of VAT) per day depending on the location in the country

    The costs above are based on an approximation of three hours preparation and attendance time, in addition to representing you at one court hearing.

    Example (fixed fee) 

    Drink driving offence, guilty plea – fixed fee £500 plus 20% VAT being £100 (£600 inclusive of VAT)

    Fee includes:

    • 2 hours attendance/preparation:
      • considering evidence
      • taking your instructions
      • providing advice on likely sentence
    • Attendance and representation at a single hearing at the Magistrates Court

    The fee does not include:

    • instruction of any expert witnesses
    • taking statements from any witnesses
    • advice and assistance in relation to a special reasons hearing
    • advice or assistance in relation to any appeal


    Additional costs not covered by fixed fee:

    • instruction of any expert witnesses - this could vary between £1000 to £1500
    • taking statements from any witnesses - this would depend on the fee earner taking the statement and how lengthy it is. Generally it would be an extra hours work         and use the fee scale noted above. 
    • advice and assistance in relation to a special reasons hearing - this could vary between £500 plus 20% VAT being £100 (£600 inclusive of VAT) to £1000 plus             20% VAT being £200 (£1200 inclusive of VAT)
    • advice or assistance in relation to any appeal - this could vary between £200 plus 20% VAT being £40 (£240 inclusive of VAT) to £300 plus 20% VAT being £60           (£360 inclusive of VAT)


    Disbursements

    • In addition to the costs outlined above we will also charge for mileage (45p per mile) and parking.
    • On occasion it might be necessary to travel by train and incur an overnight stay.  Both of these will be discussed on a case specific basis and agreed with you in advance.

     

    Expert reports

    • Certain cases will require us to engage the service of an expert (for example in an allegation of excess alcohol we might need to get a back calculation done) we have access to a great number of experts and will always discuss options and pricing with you in advance.
    • VAT will be at the current rate as set by the government, currently 20%

     

    In the event that we act on a fixed fee basis on your behalf at the first hearing and your case is adjourned to another date, for a sentence hearing, a trial or a special reasons/exceptional hardship argument, for example our hourly rates may apply for any subsequent hearings, dependent on the complexities of the case but, in general, the figures above are applied. You'll be fully advised on any differential in advance of costs being incurred.

    If you’d like to discuss a fixed fee option that isn’t defined above, we’d be happy to discuss your case with you. Our team is vastly experienced in these types of offences, having had success at all levels, including Appeal. 

    Many so called expert firms simply take your instructions and brief a Barrister to conduct the hearings for you on a fixed fee at a fraction of the fee you've paid. Unlike these firms, we won’t farm out your case to a third party; we're qualified to appear in both the Magistrates and Crown Court for Appeals, so call us to find out how we can help you.


Experience & Qualifications of supervising Partners & The Team

  • Experience and Qualifications

    Our Head of Department is Adam Whittaker, who is a very experienced Solicitor and Partner of Russell & Russell LLP. Adam is a Supervising Partner of the Motor Offences Team

    You can view information about our team’s experience and qualifications here