What it Costs...
Costs for Magistrates’ Court Driving Offences
If you are eligible for Legal Aid we will advise you of this and can help you to apply. However, you are unlikely to be able to obtain Legal Aid for driving offences which are “summary only” – meaning that they can only be heard in the Magistrates’ Court. There are a range of summary only offences, for example, drink driving, speeding, driving without due care, or failing to stop at the scene of an accident.
Where Legal Aid is not available, we are usually able to agree a fixed fee with you at the start of your case, subject to an initial assessment to establish that your case is suitable. This will depend upon, for example, the complexity of the case and the nature of your plea.
If your case is suitable for a fixed fee, our fixed fees for summary only motoring offences (based on an average case of average complexity) are as follows:
- Attendance at a single hearing for guilty plea and mitigation at a court local to our office £500 plus vat
- Attendance at a single hearing for guilty plea and mitigation at a court in excess of 30 mins travel from our office £750 plus vat
The fixed fee arrangement is based on an estimate of around 3 hours’ total preparation and attendance time, plus representation at a single court hearing. The fixed fee is payable in advance of any work being undertaken on your behalf.
If we represent you at your first hearing on a fixed fee basis as set out above, and your case is then adjourned by the Court to another date, for example, for a sentence hearing, a trial or a special reasons/exceptional hardship argument and mitigation, and where travel from our nearest office is not excessive, our normal hourly rate would apply for the subsequent hearing/s:
Our hourly rates for summary only driving offences
- Solicitor – £120+VAT (£144 including VAT) per hour
On occasions there may be additional costs, such as the cost of an expert’s report required to assist with your case. A typical example of this might be a back calculation report in a drink driving case where you intent to defend your case on the basis that alcohol had been consumed after and not before driving. We have access to the most experienced experts in the field and can gain competitive prices for their expert opinion. These fees are payable to the expert in advance of them carrying out any work for you. We promise that no additional fees will ever be incurred by us on your behalf without your approval in advance.
Please note that every case is different. Should you wish to discuss a fixed fee and the option is not outlined above, we would be happy to consider this on a case by case basis.
For more information please contact our Driving Offences Department on 01254 274 700, or email info@fmbsolicitors.co.uk