LEGAL SERVICES

Fixed-Fees & Transparent Pricing

Experience you can afford to trust

Our fee arrangements reduce uncertainty so you can make better, more informed decisions.

Instructing a lawyer can be costly. Our aim is to ensure that you can afford your legal advice, while maintaining a quality service from beginning to end. We want to be transparent about costs and in some cases offer fixed fee arrangement to reduce uncertainty so you can make more informed decisions.

Our system aims to reach the best results for our clients quickly and economically. In some cases we offer a straightforward fixed fee arrangement rather than billing by the hour. In these particular cases, this helps you make a more informed decision about whether and how you would like us to advance your case.

What are we offering?

We offer INITIAL FIXED FEE CONSULTATIONS for £180 inc VAT. This covers a first consultation of up to an hour with one of our family lawyers to discuss your case and prove initial advice. Some clients may be entitled to assistance under the Scottish Legal Aid Board schemes in some categories of cases.

You and your lawyer will then agree a plan of how your case is to be handled thereafter. You may be given a fixed fee proposal that sets out the work to be included, and what may be excluded, and how the fee is to be paid. Other cases may not be appropriate for a fixed fee. In other cases we may be able to provide our services under legal aid. Whatever your circumstances we can find a costs arrangement to suit you and will set this out in writing in our Terms of Business. If we all agree to those terms, you sign the contract and our lawyer gets to work on resolving your matter.

Fixed fees are charged in incremental stages. A fixed fee proposal may cover multiple stages of a matter but in most cases it is not possible to quote a fixed fee for a later stage until the earlier stages have been completed.

Fixed fees may not be suitable in every situation and therefore fees may be based on the time or resources involved. For instance, it is unlikely that fixed fees would be quoted if you have a complicated case with complex and uncertain legal issues, or if you and your ex-partner are involved in a dispute with high levels of conflict.

The advantages of fixed fees include:

  • you know upfront what your costs will be
  •  you can make realistic arrangements to pay your legal expenses
  • you pay a fee based on the value you and your family lawyer place on the work, not the time it takes
  • your family lawyer has the incentive to progress your matter – that’s how they get paid
  • you and your family lawyer work together to resolve the matter as quickly as possible
  • you won’t be charged for every minute your family lawyer spends on the phone, copying documents  or emailing letters


What is not included in a fixed fee quote?

Expenses we incur on your behalf are known as outlays and are not included in the fixed fees. Outlays can include expenses such as Court fees and expert reports. Where possible we try to give you an estimate of what these outlays may be.

In special circumstances, there may also be specific exclusions. We always discuss these with you and detail them in our Terms of Business.

What are variations from the fixed fee and how are they handled?

Any fixed fee arrangement is based on your original instructions. Not surprisingly cases can change, for instance if the issues in dispute that were originally discussed change significantly or if a third party joins the proceedings. Sometimes these unforseen changes mean significantly more work for us and we think it is fair and reasonable to propose a variation in the fixed fee to reflect the new scope of work. Similarly if a matter settles much quicker than anticipated, we do not charge you for work we did not do.

We let you know in writing if we are proposing a variation. You then have the option of accepting or rejecting the revised fee. If we agree on the variation, we proceed. If not, you can either cancel your instructions.

What to do next...

To speak with one of our Solicitors call us on 01698 307170 or email us. 

Talk to us.

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"My biggest worry was money and not being able to afford a good lawyer. I was told up front how much it would cost me and given options and time to pay fees which was really good. "
S. McEwan
Lanarkshire

Whatever your legal problem, we can help.

Call us on 01698 820 700 or click the button below. BG Family Law has your best interests at heart. Let’s talk.