Understanding the actual charge rate?
It is critically important that you understand the exact charge rate contained in a fee agreement. Most, but not all, lawyers use court scales as the basis of their charges. These may be described as Supreme Court scale or County Court scale. Firstly, you should check which court your claim is likely be conducted in and ensure that the scale that applies to that court is used. Some lawyers do not use court scales at all and charge based on their own in house scales! If you are presented with an in house scale, it is important that you understand how that scale compares to court scales. We think that the variation of in-house scales from court scales should always be clearly expressed in percentage terms. We have seen variations which we estimate to be approximately 30-40% higher than the court scale (depending on which court scale you use) before the uplift fee is applied to it! This means that after the uplift charge is applied you may be charged costs that are 50% higher than the court scale! If you are presented with an in house scale, demand details about the average percentage variation of the in house scale from court scales.

The fees of WORKFORCE LEGAL in litigation matters are always based on an applicable court scales.