There are various ways as to how your work can be funded:-

PRIVATE CLIENTS:

For company, commercial and most non-contentious business, we will charge you for the actual work undertaken. Different fee earners have different hourly charging rates. These range from £120 per hour up to £200 per hour depending upon the experience of the fee earner carrying out your work or the complexity of the matter in question. If matrimonial clients are ineligible for Community Legal Service (CLS) Funding then they would also be charged on a private client basis as will clients involved in non matrimonial litigation if ineligible for either CLS Funding, Law Assist Insurance or other Litigation Insurance. We attempt to render interim accounts on a periodic basis to keep costs up to date. An initial consultation fee is charged at £50 + VAT of £8.75.

COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICE (CLS) FUNDING:

(a) Legal Help  (formerly called Advice and Assistance):

If you are in receipt of Income Support or Income based Job Seekers Allowance and your capital is less than £3,000 you will automatically be. eligible for Legal Help. If your disposable income does not exceed £601 per month, then you will also be eligible so long as your gross income does not exceed £2,000 per month. Disposable income is assessed as being your gross income less allowances for mortgage or rent, work expenses, Tax and National Insurance, and allowances for a partner or children.

The Scheme will cover you for Legal Help on all contentious aspects of Law and would include cover for all letter writing, telephone calls and meetings. 

If however litigation begins, an Application for Legal Representation will have to be made.

In Family cases, General Family Help can be applied for in more prolonged cases that are likely to settle by consent.

Ross Williams has been awarded a CLS Contract for Family Work and is only one of four firms in the Town to have such a Contract. Legal Help and General Family Help and indeed Legal Representation are only available under the CLS Scheme from firms who have been awarded Contracts. This is to ensure that the services provided will meet an agreed minimum standard set by the CLS.

(b) Legal Representation:

The financial eligibility criteria is similar for that for Legal Help. If your gross income exceeds £2,000 per month you will be ineligible. If your monthly disposable income does not exceed £683 per month and your capital is less than £8,000 you will be eligible. If you are in receipt of Income Support or Income based Job Seekers Allowance, you will automatically be eligible for Legal Representation.

If you recover capital from work undertaken on your behalf under the CLS Funding Scheme, the CLS Statutory Charge will apply. Full details of the above can be supplied on request.

ROSS WILLIAMS was one of the first firms in the country to obtain a Legal Aid (now CLS) Franchise in matrimonial/family work. This is a quality assurance standard and is subject to an annual audit by the Legal Services Commission to ensure that we maintain the highest of standards.

We are panel members of the Law Assist Scheme. Law Assist can help you win your legal action by providing finance to take the case to Court and insurance against losing. Help is based on the legal merits of winning, in addition to our fees, not your financial status and there is no success fee if you win. 

Cover is available for individuals, Limited Companies, Partnerships and other Organisations and for both Claimants and Defendants. 

The Insurance will provide cover for your own and your opponents' solicitors' costs and disbursements including Barrister's fees and expert's reports up to the policy limit selected. The premium depends on the type of cover that you need. If your case is "wholly unsuccessful" then you will be able to claim under the Scheme for your own solicitor's costs and those of your opponent. If however, you are successful but you do not recover anything from your opponent then no claim can be made. Law Assist also operates a Disbursements Funding Scheme which in effect means that they will loan you the insurance premium and any other disbursements that you may have to pay out at the current APR. If you are successful with your action then this loan will have to be repaid but if you are wholly unsuccessful then your costs, including the insurance premium will be paid by Law Assist. Further details can be supplied upon request.

OTHER LITIGATION INSURANCE:

Certain matters such as personal injury actions can be operated by way of a contingency fee arrangement. This will mean that we will agree with you that should you win your case, then we will take a percentage of your winnings but should you lose we will waive our costs. This will be subject to you paying your own disbursements such as Barrister's fees and expert's reports and should you lose there is a likelihood that you would be ordered to pay your opponent's costs. There are various insurance schemes available to indemnify you against your opponent's costs and indeed there are also schemes that will cover your disbursements as well as your opponent's costs. Full details can be provided upon request.