Legal Fees and Duration of Services

The firm’s website complies with Law Society costs transparency rules to ensure you receive essential costs information and has been approved by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. We have set out below details of how our fixed fees operate together with the timescales involved for each type of case.

Fixed fees

We charge £705 preparation fee and £630 representation fee per hearing with low initial deposit (£165) which counts towards the preparation fee.  

If the case is discontinued 7 days or more before the hearing the £630 representation fee is not payable. All figures include VAT at 20%. Travel expenses are charged separately. 

Not Guilty plea cases

To illustrate how the fixed fees operate, the total charge for not guilty plea case is

£705 if case discontinued before the first hearing, or

£1335 (£705 plus £630) if case discontinued at the first hearing, or

£2040 (£1335 plus £705) if charges discontinued 7 days before second hearing, or

£2670 (£1335 plus £1335) if case concluded at second hearing

Fixed fees apply to further hearings. All figures include VAT at 20%. The fees may include the following where applicable –

• attendance and case preparation
• making representations to police for no further action
• inviting prosecution to discontinue charges
• request for video from arrest, booking in & specimen procedures before destruction
• taking your instructions
• full advice on case after reviewing the evidence
• plea bargain for penalty points instead of driving ban
• representation in the Magistrates Court. 

The fees do not cover representation at an appeal or optional experts fees.

Guilty plea cases

The total charge for guilty plea is

£1335 for representation at single hearing. 

Fixed fees apply for further hearings if necessary. All figures include VAT at 20%. The fees may include the following where applicable –

• attendance and case preparation
• advice on preparing statement
• advice on character references
• review of evidence
• taking instructions
• advice on likely sentence
• representation in the Magistrates Court
• plea in mitigation to minimise penalties
• plea bargain for penalty points instead of driving ban
• advice on appeal

The fees do not include representation on appeal or optional experts fees (which are unusual in guilty plea cases involving a single hearing).

Assistance without representation

If we are not required to attend court but we help prepare your case or undertake other work on your case the total charge for assistance without representation is 

£705 for case preparation towards one hearing. 

Fixed fees apply for further hearings if necessary. All figures include VAT at 20%. The fees may include the following where applicable –

• attendance and preparation
• making representations to police for no further action
• inviting prosecution to discontinue charges
• asking for video from arrest, booking in & specimen procedures before destruction
• taking instructions
• advice on case after reviewing the evidence.

The preparation fee £705 will also apply where we are initially instructed to represent you but then not required to do so for any reason including discontinuance of charges by police or cancellation. This list is not exhaustive.

The fees do not include representation at court or experts fees or appeal. 

Payment plans

Payment plans are available for legal fees. Please enquire with our team if you require time to pay.

 

Recovering your costs

If we successfully defend your case we may ask for a defence costs order which will reimburse a proportion if not all your legal fees. This is claimed back at an hourly rate under Government rules.

 

Choosing your level of service

You can choose the seniority of the lawyer who represents you in court.

Bronze service

For the firms fixed fees on the basic package a Solicitor or Barrister (‘advocate lawyer’) up to 5 years qualified will be thoroughly briefed with the firms’ tried and tested methods to ensure the best possible outcome at Court.

Silver service

You have the option of upgrading to a more senior advocate lawyer (10 years qualified plus).

Platinum service

We can arrange for one of the firms’ in-house advocate lawyers to attend Court. They are trained in police procedure and case strategies and are less likely to give conflicting advice and deal better with hostility in court.

Gold service (trials only)

You may also have an advocate lawyer for the trial who has demonstrated excellence. This will increase your chances of avoiding a driving ban if the case proceeds to trial.

Compare levels of service at a glance

Click here for a quick price comparison between levels of service.

 

Duration of services and Key Stages

We have given a guide to the duration of services below

Timescales 

Guilty plea cases usually take 0 to 2 months. Not guilty plea cases take around 3 to 6 months. Appeals take on average 2 to 4 months. The timescale depends on the Court listings.

Number of hearings 

The minimum number of hearings necessary to deal with the case is one hearing for a guilty plea and two hearings for a not guilty plea if there is a trial.

Most guilty plea cases are dealt at the first hearing or two hearings if the case involves special reasons or the Court needs to adjourn before sentencing which is unusual.

Some not guilty plea cases may necessitate more than two hearings. It is not possible to be certain about the number of hearings as this will depend on whether the case is complex or additional hearings may be requested by the court or prosecution. We may agree a discount on fees where more than two hearings are necessary and an additional hearing is within a short time of the previous one. 

Appeals will require a single hearing for straightforward cases or a minimum of two hearings if against conviction.

Length of hearings  

On the date of hearing your case may be called into court at any time during the court session depending on the order of cases.

Hearings may take anything from 5 minutes to half a day or if the hearing is a trial or appeal the case may take a full day. In exceptional cases hearings may take more than one day. 

Hearings may be dealt with in person or by video link or administratively in writing in the absence of the parties or legal representatives.

Continuation of service

Our services will continue after each hearing until the conclusion of the case unless you notify us within 2 days of the previous hearing.

The following key stages apply to your case when you are due to attend court.

Not guilty plea cases

• We will provide initial advice on whether there are grounds to defend the charges based on your instructions.
• We may ask the prosecution in writing to discontinue charges before the first hearing saving you the worry of attending court.
• We will represent you at first hearing when legal arguments will be set out in the PET (preparation for effective trial) form.
• We may have discussions with the prosecution at the first hearing for them to reconsider proceeding with the charges.
• The case will be adjourned towards the trial after entering a not guilty plea. The trial is when the court decides the outcome.
• If you prefer we may offer a plea bargain at the first hearing with the possibility of 10 penalty points instead of an automatic driving ban where appropriate.
• You will continue to drive after the first hearing until the trial assuming your have a full driving licence and are not subject to bail conditions. 
• We will give full advice on the case and the chances of success after reviewing all the evidence including police video footage and expert reports. This will be from around 6 weeks after the first hearing up until the trial.
• Before the trial we may request that the prosecution drops the charges if the evidence supports your case or a fair trial is not possible due to police failing to disclose evidence. 
• If the case proceeds to the trial the charges may be dismissed after presenting legal argument.
• If it is not possible to have the charges dismissed we may argue special reasons to avoid a driving ban or we may put forward personal mitigation to mimimise the penalties.
• If you are disqualified you have the option of lodging an appeal against conviction or sentence and applying to suspend disqualification which may enable you to continue driving until the appeal.

Guilty plea cases

• After taking your instructions and giving advice on evidence and likely sentence we will prepare your case.
• You will receive advice on how to structure your statement and obtain character references.
• You will also receive information about what to expect at court.
• The evidence will be requested and we will take your comments to prepare the case.
• We will send instructions to your advocate  who will meet you before the hearing to answer any questions and put you at ease.
• We will present a plea in mitigation and recommend to the court the lowest possible sentence.
• We will advise you on appeal if necessary.

 

Experts fees

Expert reports are optional for which the expert may charge separately. It may be possible to avoid a ban without the need for expert reports. Costs range from around £200 to £800 (scientific reports) or £360 to £750 (medical reports) or around £1000 (specialist police trainer). If it is necessary for the expert to attend Court they will claim their fees for attending from the Court. We may ask for payment on account to cover these fees in the event the Court refuses to authorise their costs which tends to be the exception. This may be in the region of £500 to £1000. These estimates exclude VAT at 20%.

 

Appeals

If the matter concerns an appeal the fees are the same except the representation fee is £900 for bronze cases and £1050 for silver cases. All figures include VAT at 20%.

 

Complex cases

If your case becomes complex additional charges may be payable for preparing documents for use in Court from £60 to £180 in most cases. If you require us to appoint a senior lawyer to prepare documents the cost may be higher £500 to £1000. All figures include VAT at 20%.

Alternative funding

The firm does not operate legal aid or routinely deal with cases under legal expenses insurance or those involving trade unions. Other providers may provide such assistance however for reasonable fixed fees you will be represented by one of the very few, if not the only firm in the Country dealing in drink driving related cases and nothing else. This will substantially increase your chances of avoiding a driving ban and criminal record.

 

Information about the firm

National Motoring Lawyers is the trading name of National Lawyer Services, a firm of Solicitors of England and Wales, regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority SRA no. 499283. You can access the SRA’s rules of conduct here 

Postal enquiries: 3rd Floor, 51/52 Hamilton Square, Birkenhead, Wirral, CH41 5AS. VAT number 795 3482 83.

Full T&Cs are provided with our welcome pack. The firm’s fees include VAT at the prevailing rate and our invoices will separately identify the amount of VAT that has been charged. The firm may choose to accept methods of payment at its discretion. Payment of fees will be taken as acceptance of the firm’s terms. By instructing the firm to act you agree that legal fees may be paid into the firm’s office account to enable emergency work to be undertaken on your behalf.

Your Rights

We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service we have provided then you should inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem. In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues. If you would like to make a formal complaint, then you can read our full complaints procedure. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint and no more than one year from the date of act/omission or no more than one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them on 0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm or by email on enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk or by post Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ. Their website is www.legalombudsman.org.uk. The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic. You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors RegulationAuthority here.

You may cancel our services at any time either in writing, by phone, by email or by using the cancellation form on our website.

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give you the right to cancel goods and services within 14 days. Under Reg 36 this right will cease once we have commenced urgent work on your case. In these circumstances, the firm may charge the applicable fixed preparation and representation fees due under our terms of business. If no urgent work has been undertaken you owe us nothing and you will be entitled to a full refund of the fees paid in full. Urgent work includes requesting CCTV or preparing for appeal whether conviction or DVLA revocation of license. This list is non exhaustive.