Our Costs

Please make sure that you read this information in full before you contact us.

We are normally instructed by parents, either in relation to providing them with specialist advice (usually if they are going through the ‘Statementing’ process) or in relation to appeals to the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Tribunal (formerly known as ‘SENDIST’).

We are entirely transparent and fair about our charges. In fact, unusually for solicitors, our fees are quoted inclusive of VAT and are very straightforward so that they are easy to understand.

In essence, our fees can be set out in three ways:

• First Meeting
• Normal Hourly Rates ('Consultancy')
• Fixed/Capped Fees for SEND Appeals

First Meeting (which lasts for about 1½ hours)

£300 inclusive of VAT (which includes a detailed letter of advice afterwards)

Normal Hourly Rates ('Consultancy')

• Douglas Silas: £300 per hour inclusive of VAT
• Assistant Solicitor: £200 per hour inclusive of VAT
• Trainee Solicitor: £175 per hour inclusive of VAT
• Other Staff: £150 per hour inclusive of VAT

Fixed/Capped Fees for SEND Tribunal Appeals (from 1 January 2013)

£10,000 inclusive of VAT but plus Disbursements (e.g. expert reports/fees, photocopying, special postage, travel, etc.) in relation to:

• Refusals to Assess/Re-assess
• Refusals to Make a Statement of SEN following an Assessment/Reassessment
• Refusals to Change the Name of a School on a Statement of SEN
• Decisions to Cease to Maintain a Statement of SEN

£15,000 inclusive of VAT but plus Disbursements (e.g. expert reports/fees, photocopying, special postage, travel, etc.) in relation to:

• Challenges to the Contents of a Statement of SEN                    

In an appeal, our disbursements (known as 'Office Fees' - e.g. photocopying/special postage etc) usually amount to £250-300 (N.B. these do not cover expert reports/fees)

As an incentive therefore, for clients instructing us on a Fixed/Capped Fees basis and agreeing to pay by monthly standing order, we will ourselves pay for our disbursements.

As a further incentive therefore, for clients instructing us on a Fixed/Capped Fees basis and agreeing to pay by way of a lump sum up-front, we will not only ourselves pay for our disbursements but will also reduce our fees by an addditional £250.

Our fees for appeals are referred to as 'capped' not just 'fixed' because, if the appeal is successfully settled at least seven days before the hearing, we will only charge for the work we have incurred up until then at our normal hourly rate plus a 10% uplift to reflect the risk we have taken.

For example, if only £2,000 worth of work has been incurred when the case concludes we will charge the client £2,200, but if £6,000 worth of work has already been incurred we will charge them £6,600.

You can read or download here our detailed information sheet on ‘Fixed/Capped Fees’.

• Please note that we sincerely believe that parents should approach us for our advice before lodging any appeal in order to maximise their chances of success. If you therefore already have a right (or potential right) to appeal to the SEND Tribunal (e.g. you are currently awaiting a ‘final’ statement) please contact us as soon as possible if you think that you may need our assistance.
• Although we always endeavour to see new clients within about 3 weeks of them approaching us for an appointment, where people approach us at short notice, we may have difficulty in seeing them quickly enough.
• We do not offer Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs) (often referred to as “No Win, No Fee" agreements).
• We do not undertake legally aided work directly having chosen not to renew our Education Contract with the Legal Services Commission (LSC) inl 2007.

You can read a more detailed exlanation about how we approach costs here.

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