Who are we?

Our market leading criminal motor defence team is made up of specialist lawyers, geographically spread across the UK. We deal with the highest volume of fatal driving cases nationwide of any firm, and are the go to team for insurers, brokers, and corporate clients.

Our dedicated 24 hour service provides drivers with access to early advice from a specialist lawyer immediately after a collision.

Our service includes:

• A dedicated 24/7 helpline connecting your drivers with a specialist lawyer for advice as soon as a collision occurs.
• Attendance at police station interviews and early dialogue with the police to advise the driver from the moment the collision occurs.
• Pragmatic advice as to the charges faced, ramifications of those charges, and advice/representation in the event of being charged

How can we help you?

Each member of our team understands the anxieties that drivers experience when they are unexpectedly implicated in a criminal investigation following a fatal or serious injury road traffic collision.

We have truly national coverage with teams based in the North, the Midlands, Wales, the South East, and the South West of England. We also have a team in Scotland which enables us to offer a true cross jurisdictional service

Our lawyers are specialist criminal lawyers with years of experience in the criminal justice system. The advice is tailored to the individual in every case.

Having our criminal motor defence lawyers work in conjunction with our catastrophic injury team avoids the unnecessary duplication of costs and ensures that issues of civil and criminal liability are suitably aligned.

Our early involvement ensures access to critical information which is otherwise unavailable until the conclusion of any criminal investigation and subsequent proceedings allowing for an early and credible assessment of civil liability by our specialist catastrophic injury lawyers. In cases where primary liability may be difficult to dispute, early access to information enables issues pertaining to contributory negligence to be identified, which could significantly reduce the value of any claim.

Experience you can rely on:

• Defending a LGV driver who collided with a cyclist who was diagnosed as a quadriplegic. The LGV driver was charged with careless driving. Expert evidence obtained by us during the proceedings ascertained that the speed of both the LGV and cyclist were such that the cyclist was hidden in the blind spot behind our offside mirror throughout. The LGV driver was subsequently found not guilty of careless driving
• Defending a van driver who collided with a pedestrian The pedestrian died as a result of the collision. Advice and representation to the defendant at the police station, including identifying issues in relation to the accident, led to the police taking no further action against the defendant.

We also have a dedicated Police Misconduct Defence Team. Click here to read more about this team.

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Personnel / Supervision

All people advising on client matters will be supervised by a partner or other senior lawyer. The supervisor will discuss and agree the strategy for every matter with all lawyer(s) working on a matter.

Each client will be advised at the start of a matter of the name of the lawyer with day to day conduct of the matter, and their supervisor in their letter of engagement which is sent out at the beginning of our instruction.

Type of Claim

The below rates and estimates apply to matters on which we are instructed to represent individuals prosecuted for summary only driving offences in the Magistrates’ Court to be concluded in one hearing. 

Typical offences falling into this category include:

• Driving/In charge with excess alcohol

• Speeding

• Use of a mobile phone whilst driving

• Driving Without Due Care and Attention (Careless Driving)

• Failing to Stop/Report

• Construction and Use offences

• Endorsable offences leading to totting-up disqualification and exceptional hardship / special reasons applications

• Tachograph offences

 

Associated Pricing

	Hourly rate (London)	VAT per hour at 20%	Hourly rate (Regions)	VAT per hour at 20%
Partner	£290	£58	£220	£44
Associate	£220	£44	£200	£40
Solicitor	£190	£38	£180	£36
Paralegal	£150	£30	£130	£26

 

Estimates of fees

Our estimate for representing you at any of the above claims would be in the region of £1,250 to £5,000 (plus VAT at 20%).

The total cost of a case will depend upon the number of conferences required with a client, whether an expert is to be instructed, the amount of evidence / complexity of the case and the Court location. The above estimates are a range of indicative costs and not a fixed fee. Please contact us if you wish to obtain a more specific quote.
Cases to be defended (trials) would fall outside of these estimates.  As would either way offences which could fall to be dealt with at the Crown Court. 

 

Service information

The estimate would include:

• Initial meeting with you to obtain the factual background and any relevant detail

• Considering evidence

• Providing advice in relation to plea and likely sentence

• Advice on the options available to the court in relation to sentencing

• Where appropriate, advice on whether an exceptional hardship, or special reasons argument should be made

• Representation at a single hearing at the Magistrates Court
  
  

The fee estimate does not include:

• instruction of any expert witnesses

• taking statements from any witnesses

• advice and assistance in relation to a special reasons hearing

• advice or assistance in relation to any appeal
  
  

We set out below an overview of the key stages of your matter, which are based on the presumption that you have entered a guilty plea and have a date for your hearing:

We would have an initial meeting with you to obtain instructions on the background to the matter.

We will consider initial disclosure we require from you, and any other evidence to defend you and provide advice to you on merits, and process.

We would arrange to take any witness statements if necessary (this will have an additional cost, based on the above hourly rates dependent upon the amount of work required).

We will explain the court procedure to you so you know what to expect on the day of your hearing, and the sentencing options available to the court.

We will conduct any further preparatory work, obtain further instructions from you if necessary and answer any follow up queries you have.

We cannot provide a timescale of when your hearing will take place, as this depends on the court listing for that day. On average, instructions relating to the above offences would typically take 3 months from initial instruction to a court hearing, subject to court availability.

We will attend court on the day and meet with you before going before the court.

We will discuss the outcome with you. If advice is required on appeal, this will carry an additional cost.

Additional disbursements may include Counsel's fees, expert's fees, Court fees and copying charges. These costs are dependent upon seniority of Counsel, type of expert and the amount of work required, and can range from £250 to more than £10,000 (plus VAT at 20%). Further information can be provided on a case by case basis.