The information set out below is intended to give an indication of the average cost to recover a debt of up to £100,000. The actual costs involved will depend on a number of factors, for example, if the underlying facts of the case are complex, or if the debtor is located in a jurisdiction outside England and Wales. We will consider in detail the factors that are likely to affect the costs of your particular matter at the initial point of instruction.
Recovering debts of more than £10,000 and up to £100,000
In claims to recover a monetary value of more than £10,000, the general rule is that legal fees are recoverable from the losing party. Our fees for these matters are charged at the hourly rate of the fee earners involved.
The hourly rates for the different fee earners that might be involved are set out below:
(a) £140 for a paralegal
(b) £150 for a trainee
(c) £250 to £300 for an associate or senior associate
(d) £390 – £450 for a partner
The degree of involvement of these fee earners will depend on the particular circumstances of the case. However, typically, matters are likely to involve a partner, who will supervise the matter and either a senior associate or a junior associate, who will act as the day to day point of contact. A trainee or paralegal may also be involved.
In addition to our hourly rates, we may need to incur disbursements on your behalf. Disbursements include items such as counsel’s fees, court fees, search fees, and photocopying charges. We will notify you before any disbursements are incurred.
Typical examples of the associated fees and disbursements for each stage of an uncontested debt claim and a contested debt claim of up to £100,000 are set out below.
Example of costs for an uncontested debt claim
| Stage | Detail of Services | Average costs (exclusive of VAT) | Average disbursements (exclusive of VAT) | Likely timescale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-action | Taking instructions, reviewing documents, providing advice on merits, drafting a letter before action | Between £750 and £2,500 | If the matter is complex, specialist counsel may be required to provide an advice on merits.
Counsel’s fees are likely to be in the region of £750 to £1,500 |
2 to 4 weeks |
| Issue/statements of case | Drafting claim form and particulars of claim, serving on the other side and filing at court | Between £750 and £2,500 | The court fee is 5% of the value of the claim (including any interest claimed).
Counsel’s costs (if required) to draft proceedings are likely to be between £750 and £2,500
|
2 to 4 weeks |
| Obtaining judgment | If the defendant does not file a defence to the claim, making an application for default judgment | Between £300 and £600 | No disbursements are expected to be incurred at this stage. | 2 to 6 weeks |
| Enforcements costs | Enforcement proceedings may include, but are not limited to; applying for a final charging order over property, issuing winding up proceedings, or applying for a third party costs order | Between £1,000 and £5,000 | Court fees range from £33 to £280, depending on the type of enforcement. | 4 to 12 weeks |
Example of costs for a contested debt claim
| Stage | Detail of Services | Average costs (exclusive of VAT) | Average disbursements (exclusive of VAT) | Likely timescale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-action | Taking instructions, reviewing documents, providing advice on merits, drafting a letter before action | Between £750 and £2,500 | If the matter is complex, specialist counsel may be required to provide an advice on merits.
Counsel’s fees are likely to be in the region of £750 to £1,500 plus VAT |
2 to 4 weeks |
| Issue/statements of case | Drafting claim form and particulars of claim, serving on the other side and filing at court | Between £750 and £2,500 | The court fee is 5% of the value of the claim (including any interest claimed).
Counsel’s costs (if required) to draft proceedings are likely to be between £750 and £2,500
|
2 to 4 weeks |
| Costs and Case Management | Preparing case management documents, correspondence with the debtor, preparation and attendance at the Costs and Case Management Conference (CCMC) | Between £1,500 and £3,000 | Counsel may be required to attend the CCMC, in which case fees will be in the region of £500 to £1,500 | Depending on court availability, 4 weeks to 12 weeks |
| Disclosure | Collating all the documents relevant to the case in your possession or control, including the documents that support your case and adversely affect your case.
Disclosing these documents to the other side and requesting copies of their disclosure. Reviewing all the documents.
|
Between £1,000 and £5,000 per statement | No disbursements are expected to be incurred at this stage. In complex matters, counsel may be instructed to review and provide comments. Counsel’s fees are likely to be in the region of £500 to £1,500 per statement. | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Expert report | Instructing an expert (if required) | Between £750 and £3,000 | An expert’s costs will vary depending on the specialism | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Pre-trial review hearing | Preparing for and attendance at Pre-Trial Review hearing | Between £1,000 and £2,500 | Counsel’s fees of between £1000 and £2000 | 4 weeks |
| Trial preparation | Preparing trial bundles | Between £5,000 and £10,000 | Counsel’s fees in the region of £1,000 to £5,000 based on a one day trial | 4 weeks |
| Trial | Attendance at court | Between £1,500 and £2,500 for a one day trial
For longer trials, our costs are likely to be around £2,000 a day after day one. |
Between £1,500 and £2,500 for a one day trial
For longer trials, counsel’s fees are likely to be around £1,500 a day after day one. |
1 day (although the length of trial will depend on a number of factors, such as the number of witnesses, expert evidence, etc) |
| Enforcements costs | Enforcement proceedings may include; applying for a final charging order over property, issuing winding up proceedings, or applying for a third party costs order | Between £1,500 and £5,000 | Court fees for range from £33 to £280, depending on the type of enforcement. | 4 to 12 weeks |
The fee ranges above are an indicative indication only. We will be able to give you a clearer idea of the likely costs and disbursements that relate to your particular case once we have considered all the details. Factors such as complexity, the volume of documents to be considered and the number of witnesses will all affect the likely costs.
Funding
To assist you with payment of your legal fees, we can consider funding options with you although for a claim of less than £100,000 is not one where Third Party Funding is likely to be available. We will discuss each of these options with you at the outset of our instruction.
Conditional fee arrangements
In some cases may be able to offer a conditional fee agreement, which means that some or all of our costs would only be payable by you if we achieve an agreed success e.g. obtaining judgement at trial or settlement.
We do not offer Conditional Fee Agreements for claims worth less than £100,000.
Who will be doing the work?
Different members of the team will need to be involved at different times. An example of the people that might be involved in your matter are:
Other members of the dispute resolution team may also be involved. The profiles of each of the fee earners in the department can be found in the “Our People” section of our website.
