All of our qualified and unqualified staff are charged out on the basis of hourly rates, which are attributed on the basis of experience and the value they add to a case. For example, our trainee solicitors and paralegals are charged out at the rate of £100 per hour plus VAT; whilst our most senior Consultant's charge out rate is £250 per hour plus VAT. A full breakdown of each solicitor's hourly rate is available on request.
At all times we aim to keep our hourly rates as reasonable as possible, acknowledging that quality legal advice needs to be accessible and affordable for most households. We believe that our hourly rates are extremely competitive when compared to other firms in London.
We offer clients a variety of different options to help meet their legal fees as follows:
Fixed fees: Throughout the firm we offer a fixed fee service on a variety of standardised procedures, like conveyancing, will preparation and completing a basic divorce suit.
Conditional Fee Agreements: These are more commonly referred to as ‘no win, no fee agreements’. The majority of the Personal Injury Department’s cases are funded by these agreements, and they simply mean that if a client’s claim fails they do not have to pay us anything. If a client’s claim succeeds, they keep 100% of their compensation and the legal costs are recovered from the other side.
Contingency Fee Agreements: A small minority of the Personal Injury Department’s work is funded in this way, in claims to the CICA and the MIB under the Untraced Driver’s Scheme, where Conditional Fee Agreements are not available. As above, if a client’s claim fails they do not have to pay us anything. If a client’s claim succeeds they would be asked for a small contribution towards our legal costs from their compensation.
Matrimonial Fee funding/Litigation Loans: Further information is available from the firm on request.
Public Funding/Legal Aid: Osbornes continues to be licensed to carry out publicly funded work in the areas of Family law, housing, probate and welfare benefits. The amount of this type of work that we conduct is now strictly controlled and tends to be restricted to complex matters. The eligibility levels and availability change regularly. The most up to date information on both is available at www.legalservices.gov.uk
For further information regarding any of our funding schemes, please contact our main switchboard and they will put you through to the appropriate department.
