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Client Focus Q&A: Professional Witnesses Ltd
We met up with Jennifer Rigby, Managing Director at Professional Witnesses Ltd (pictured left) for our latest client focus Q&A.
Residential Conveyancing: range of costs
Bermans property team offer a personal conveyancing service for the following types of residential property:
- Freehold sale or purchase
- Leasehold sale or purchase
- Mortgages or re-mortgages
Our conveyancers are experts in guiding you through the legal process and you can be safe in the knowledge that they are supported by our larger commercial property team.
Whether you are buying or selling or refinancing we can provide you with cost certainty and confidence that you are in safe hands.
We provide a list of our headline rates below but we like to provide a specific quote to suit your needs so do get in touch and we will provide a fixed fee quotation.
PLEASE NOTE
These fees exclude disbursements and any Stamp Duty Land Tax payable to HM Revenue and Customs.
Continue ReadingEmployment tribunal: Range of costs
Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal (excluding disbursements and Counsel’s fees).
Simple case: £8000 to £10,000 (excluding VAT)
Medium complexity case: £10,000 to £20,000 (excluding VAT)
High complexity case: £20,000 to £75,000 (excluding VAT).
Factors that could make a case more complex:
- If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim
- Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person
- Making or defending a costs application
- Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties)
- The number of witnesses and documents
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if an employee is dismissed after ‘blowing the whistle’ on his/her employer
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as medical experts. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Counsel’s fees
We would generally instruct a barrister to represent you at the Employment Tribunal hearing. Barristers’ fees are broken down into two areas: i.) a Brief fee, which covers their preparation for the hearing and the first day of the hearing and ii.) a Refresher, which covers each additional day after the first day of the hearing. Brief fees are estimated to be between £850 to £5000 plus VAT (depending on the level of experience of the Barrister, the complexity of the case and the length of the hearing). Refreshers are estimated to be between £700 to £1250 plus VAT (depending on the level of experience of the Barrister).
Key stages
The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change)
- Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;
- Preparing claim or response
- Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party
- Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process
- Preparing or considering a schedule of loss
- Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing
- Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents
- Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses
- Preparing bundle of documents for the Tribunal hearing
- Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements
- Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list
- Preparation and attendance at the Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel
The stages set out above are an indication and if some of stages above are not required, the fee will be reduced. You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can also be arranged on your individual needs.
How long will my matter take?
The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take four to six weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take between six and twelve months. This is just an estimate and we will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.
Contact us to speak to a member of the employment team.
Continue ReadingDebt recovery: Range of fixed fees
Charges from 1st July 2022
Stage 1 – Pre litigation: Letter Before Action
| Debtor is an individual: | Protocol Claim £30.00+VAT |
| Debtor is a Limited Company or Partnership (LLP): | Non-Protocol Claim £25.00+VAT |
This includes taking instructions, preparing and issuing letter by 1st Class post.
The debtor will be advised to send any payments and communication to you directly.
Should you require us to enter into discussion or correspond with the debtor this would be carried out at a standard additional fixed fee of £30.00+VAT per item.
A fee of £10.00+VAT is chargeable for transferring each debtor payment received by us to you.
Stage 2 – Issue of Claim
*Both the Court fee and part of Bermans fee (as shown in brackets) are recoverable if successful
Should the debtor file a defence then this will be referred to one of our lawyers who will advise you accordingly. Any work carried out at this point will be chargeable at an hourly rate, as detailed later in this document.
Stage 3 – Obtain Judgment
*Part of Bermans fee (as shown in brackets) is recoverable if successful
The £ value range given above is dependent on the type of Judgment being requested:
- In default of Acknowledgement of Service
- In default of Defence
- On Admission and acceptance of offer
- On Admission and rejection of offer
Stage 4 – Enforcement
Writ of Control (enforcement via HCEO)
*Both the Court fee and part of Bermans fee (as shown in brackets) are recoverable if successful
Should enforcement be unsuccessful the HCEO will charge an abortive fee of £75.00+VAT.
Costings for other forms of Enforcement are available on request (as below):
- Attachment of Earnings
- Charging Order
- Statutory Demand (based on a money Judgment)
- Bankruptcy Petition
- Winding up Petition
Contact:
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Escalate case study one : contract dispute client (£107,000)
Background
We recently engaged a contract dispute case in which the client was owed £107,000. The dispute was a few years old and originally the client thought it was delayed/bad debt so they instructed their local solicitor to deal with the dispute. This was unsuccessful and resulted in the defendants counter claiming for £300,000 in attempt to scare the client.
The client tried to negotiate with the defendants and they were prepared to accept a 50% discount to get the matter resolved, but the defendant was unprepared and instead stated ‘take us to court then if you can’. At no point during the last few years has the claimant made any attempt to pursue the counter claim indicating that it was nothing more than a scare tactic.
The client then engaged a well known law firm in Birmingham to help them recover their £107,000 and this was taken on with the client being charged circa £25,000 in fees before the law firm advised that there was nothing more they could do for them and did not litigate because ‘the costs vs returns didn’t stack up’. So the client was left with no recovery, 2 years of lost time and fees incurred equal to 25% of the original claim.
How did Escalate help?
The client heard about Escalate and made contact with the team and we have subsequently engaged the case and are now pursuing. On the basis the client is happy for a 50% recovery (we are looking for 100% plus historic costs if possible), we are hopeful that we will be able to negotiate this through in path A, however we are very certain that if we can’t then the moment it drops into Path B then mediation/settlement will happen.
Why Escalate?
If you have a unresolved dispute, Escalate can help you to avoid wasting your time and money pursuing disputes with unsuccessful outcome.
Click here for more information or email escalate@bermans.co.uk to contact a member of the team.
Escalate case study two: sports club construction dispute (£450,000+)
Background
A sports club sold off part of its land to a developer in return for the construction of a new club house on the remaining club’s land.
Construction costs over-ran, the developer walked off-site and would not return until additional funds were provided by the sports club to support the club house build. This resulted in a ‘stand-off’ that then saw lawyers instructed from both sides to try and resolve.
The case got stuck in a 12 month plus legal process that didn’t progress, other than to highlight the original weaknesses in the contract drafting which meant both sides had some form of potential argument to keep the lawyers going ‘backwards and forwards’.
The case had gained over £50,000 in legal costs before it stalled due to the sports club running out of money to pursue further. Their incumbent lawyer (national firm) was not comfortable in offering a conditional agreement but certainly were not prepared to cover disbursements. It was also unlikely that the case would have been able to get insurance for the adverse costs (After The Event Insurance) below £100,000 which would have made it prohibitive.
How did Escalate help?
The sports club heard about Escalate through their local accountant and transferred the case to us. Within 6 weeks a heads of term agreement was reached.
Through Escalate we were able to demonstrate that the case was now funded and insured to high court meaning the developer needed to do a deal or risk a significant cash gamble under the court.
Why Escalate?
If you have a unresolved dispute, Escalate can help you to avoid wasting your time and money pursuing disputes with unsuccessful outcome.
Click here for more information or email escalate@bermans.co.uk to contact a member of the team.
Escalate case study three: marketing company share sale (£220,000)
Background
An entrepreneur sold her marketing company to a UK business with an American parent with the sum to be paid in three stages over a two year period. The final instalment of £220,000 was due in October 2016 but was never received. The previous 2 instalments had been received and there was no prior indication that there would be a problem with the final one.
Upon failure to receive the final payment, approaches were made to the American parent for justification and none were given accept a generic line of ‘breach of contract’.
The entrepreneur engaged legal support in the UK and also appointed lawyers in New York to explore ‘breach of contract’ and non-payment. Approximately £20,000 was spent in legal costs trying to understand the problem and recover the money, but nothing further than an extended previous position which now said ‘multiple breaches of contract’ but none were evidenced despite requests.
The entrepreneur had taken the view of not ‘throwing good money after bad’ and had decided to write off their final payment and sought advice from their accountant in relation to the tax treatment.
How did Escalate help?
The clients accountant informed them of Escalate and the case was engaged. Within 6 months the entrepreneur secured a recovery of £290,000.
Why Escalate?
If you have a unresolved dispute, Escalate can help you to avoid wasting your time and money pursuing disputes with unsuccessful outcome.
Click here for more information or email escalate@bermans.co.uk to contact a member of the team.
Commercial Lease Review
Client Focus Q&A: Checkd Media
We met up with Jamie Knowlson (right) CEO and Lee Struggles (left), Marketing Director at CheckdMedia for our latest Q&A.
1. What is your business?
CheckdMedia is a privately-owned Social Marketing company, operating from Manchester city centre. We look to help brands engage with our established communities. We have several brands within our portfolio which are active across various social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as well as having their own websites. These are the tools we use to advertise our clients.
2. Which solicitors do you use at Bermans and how do we compare to other firms?
We established the relationship with Bermans back in 2012, from our experience of working with them they have been a great support to the business. We acquired Oddschanger in August this year and Robin Hastings & Jon Davage were extremely helpful in making the process efficient for both parties.
3. What are the biggest challenges you face in growing your business and maintaining profits?
Maintaining the growth we’ve achieved Y.O.Y. Each year the company has grown 40% Y.O.Y for the past 5 years. Looking ahead, Lee and I are trying to maintain that number whilst bringing in the right team members to contribute to that magic number.
4. Tell us about your typical working day?
Well each day is usually different but I usually get up at 6:30am and get a train in to work. I grab a bowl of porridge and check my emails before 8am. I like to get into the office before anyone else, just for a bit of thinking time and all that. Then my day is usually made up of meetings with the managers or potential new clients, I like to get involved in most areas of the business. Home for 6:30pm then it’s either, football training, dinner, pub or gym. Repeat 5 times a week!
5. Highlight for CheckdMedia over the last 12 months?
In the last 12 months we’ve seen 40% growth Y.O.Y, increased headcount by 42%, made an acquisition and taken on a number of new partners. We are creating a highly motivated and highly skilled team, and are employing people with great CV’s who can bring experience and make us a stronger unit. Our staff work extremely hard and we reward them with external events, such as a trip to Chester Race Day or Dublin which we laid on in 2017.
6. What are the business plans for the year ahead?
Grow our communities, stickier content/technology and overseas!
7. Is there a sector or industry that you are strong in or looking to develop?
CheckdMedia is very strong on Social Media, it is one of our key channels, but we also have clear development plans for working in overseas markets. We launched our first white label in 2017 with a company in the Netherlands, which has been quite exciting so if that takes off that will be a focus
8. Do you find social media assists with your business and if so, how?
40% of our business is Social Media driven. The company was founded through Social Media and so it is a great asset to us and what we’re doing. I’d encourage all businesses to look at Social Media and see how it can benefit your business goals.
9. If you were chancellor, what single change would you make to help improve the economy and/or your business?
The uncertainty around Brexit is the single biggest “drag” on UK economic growth, it cannot be coincidental that before the Brexit vote, the UK had the fastest growing economy in the EU, and now has the slowest growing economy. The chancellor and the rest of the government should be focusing their efforts on negotiating the right Brexit for the UK, and communicating that to the wider public and business.
10. What are your passions away from business?
We both enjoy a round of golf or game of football. We are keen football fans and go to matches where possible, with one of us being a Liverpool supporter and the other following Sheffield Wednesday. Health and fitness in general is a big part of our lives, but we aren’t adverse to an evening in the pub either!
11. Do you have a business tip for our readers?
Work hard, set clear objectives and KPI’s, break down the key drivers to achieving those objectives, focus on them and how you will deliver them. Looking after the small items, ensures you don’t get distracted by what seems a big and scary objective at the top.
WANT TO BE FEATURED NEXT TIME?
To feature your company in the next issue please contact our Marketing Assistant, Emma Bartram on 0151 224 0506 or email emma.bartram@bermans.co.uk
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