Funding Your Case
Privately funded criminal defence lawyers
We try and be as transparent as possible when discussing costs.
Our lawyers may charge fees based upon an hourly rate as agreed from the outset. We will ask for a ‘payment on account’. They will provide estimates as to total likely costs. These estimates will be regularly updated.
Alternatively, we can agree a fee for representing you either in respect of a particular stage of a case or for the case in its entirety.
Private client charging rates per hour
Our hourly charging rates as at April 2024 are detailed below. Our rates are considered for review in April each year.
Legal protection insurance
In many cases legal protection insurance or legal expenses insurance is available either as standard or as a bolt on to existing insurance policies that many individuals or businesses hold. If you are unsure as to whether your policy covers you then we can look into this for you.
Legal aid
A number of our lawyers act on legally aided cases. We can advise you as to whether legal aid is available, whether it is suitable for your case and whether we are prepared to undertake your case on a publicly funded basis.
There are limits to what legal aid will cover. Public funding at the pre-charge stage is extremely limited and Olliers do not undertake this work on a publicly funded basis.
The pre-charge stage is arguably the most important stage of a case. To find out how important a solicitors role is during this stage of a case click here to read an article about proactive pre charge work.
A proactive approach to pre-charge work is not limited to sexual offences, we will always look to nip in the bud any investigation and consider whether following defence enquiries representations against charge can be made.
If your case is in the crown court legal aid will not necessarily cover the most senior barristers and it would be rare for it to cover King’s Counsel.
In some cases, it may not be economically viable for us to conduct your case on a legally aided basis.
Costs in the crown court – ‘Recovery of Defence Costs Order’
Costs are not normally awarded to an acquitted defendant. This is unfair. The only exception is if the defendant had applied for legal aid and was refused legal aid based upon his or her means. Sometimes it is therefore necessary to go through the motions of applying for legal aid simply for it to be refused. We can do this for our clients.
Contact Olliers Solicitors to discuss funding options
If you wish to discuss funding options in relation to your case please contact our Manchester office on 0161 8341515 or the London office on 020 38836790, email info@olliers.com or complete the online advice request form below and we will call you back promptly.
