Please note this is not designed to provide formal legal advice but will provide a general guide to assist clients in direct access cases. If you require legal advice or other legal services, please send me an email to [email protected] or book an initial consultation with me at www.theopangraz.com.
Work under Retainer
Please note that the work you instruct me to do, the fees for this work, and all other terms of our agreement are described in my Client Care Letter. Only after you agree to my Client Care Letter, by countersigning it, will you be obliged to pay my fees in accordance with the terms of the Client Care Letter.
Contact with me
As a Barrister, I am frequently in court and cannot always answer emails/calls the same day. I will always seek to return calls and emails as soon as possible but sometimes that means I need to review documents before a reply can be made. You can always leave me a message at [email protected] when I am not available.
Instructions
Please ensure that once you have agreed to my Client Care Letter, you send all the required documents to me by email (I am not able to accept hard copies). The most common documents to send are copies of court documents (Claim Form, Particulars of Claim, Defence, Counterclaim, Defence to Counterclaim, Reply and Court Orders), expert reports, witness statements, other relevant documents and relevant correspondence.
Advice on the Prospect of Success
Please note that I only provide advice (whether in writing, by telephone or in a conference) on the prospect of success for your claim, or defence (as the case may be) when such advice is expressly included in the work described in my Client Care Letter. Me drafting documents or attending a hearing for you, does not mean that your claim, or defence, has a reasonable prospect of success. If you wish me to advise you on the prospect of success, please request this, so that this can be included in my Client Care Letter.
If I am instructed through my Client Care Letter to provide advice, I will do so based on the instructions, information and documents you have provided to me. Only the person named in my Client Care Letter may rely upon my advice. My advice, or legal opinion, is an independent view of the case which may not necessarily concur with your view or opinion. Generally, I will only amend my advice to correct factual errors.
Advice for Insurers
If my advice is to be utilised by you with any insurer, then the advice has to be disclosed in full to the insurer with all the relevant case documents in support.
If I am instructed through my Client Care Letter to provide advice, I will do so based on the instructions, information and documents you have provided to me. Only the person named in my Client Care Letter may rely upon my advice. My advice, or legal opinion, is an independent view of the case which may not necessarily concur with your view or opinion. Generally, I will only amend my advice to correct factual errors.
Filing with the Court
As a Direct Access Barrister, I am not allowed to issue proceedings, lodge any application or appeal, or file any documents (other than Skeleton Arguments) on my letterhead with the court. I am not on the court’s record. You as the Litigant in Person will be responsible for such issuing, lodging and filing. What I can do, however, is drafting all relevant documents for you, which you can then file, lodge or issue with the court.
Any court order, notice of a hearing, or other correspondence from the court will be sent to you. It is therefore important that you provide me with any such court order, notice, or correspondence you have received as soon as you receive it.
Court Fees
When you issue court proceedings or lodge any application or appeal at court, you must pay the relevant Court Fee, the guidance can be found at this link:- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fees-in-the-civil-and-family-courts-main-fees-ex50
If you are exempt from Court fees then you may be able to claim an exemption using the form at this link:- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-help-with-court-and-tribunal-fees
Unless the Court fees are paid on time or a valid exemption is claimed, then the claim, application, or appeal will not be issued. As a Direct Access Barrister, I cannot pay any Court Fees or claim an exemption for you. You must pay these, or file those directly with the court.
Any court order, notice of a hearing, or other correspondence from the court will be sent to you. It is therefore important that you provide me with any such court order, notice, or correspondence you have received as soon as you receive it.
Issue of Claims and Counterclaims
The guidance on issuing money claims online up to £10,000 can be found here:- https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money
For the postal issue of claims, the guidance can be found here:- https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees
For counterclaims – if you lodge a counterclaim in response to a claim, you may likely have to pay a counterclaim fee and the fees information can be located here:- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fees-in-the-civil-and-family-courts-main-fees-ex50
Statements of Truth and Checking Documents
Please note that court documents for issuing, lodging or filing usually have a Statement of Truth on them which you need to sign. You must read these documents carefully before signing any Statement of Truth. It is an offence to sign a Statement of Truth you know not to be true which can lead to a fine or imprisonment or both.
If a document requires an amendment, please contact me to amend it before you sign and/or send it to the court.
Statements of Truth can be signed electronically or physically by printing the document, then signing it, and then scanning the signed document, so that it can be emailed to or electronically filed with the court.
Serving and Filing Documents
As a Direct Access Barrister, I cannot file with the court or serve upon the other side any documents for you. You can generally file at Court documents up to a certain size limit at Court (but please check with the Court before doing so as different Courts have different rules). The list of Court email addresses can be found here:- https://www.gov.uk/find-court-tribunal
If you need to send a copy to the other side, you must check first if they will accept service by email and if not, you will need to post a copy. You are a Litigant in Person and remain responsible for complying with court deadlines on time. Court orders will usually set out dates for compliance and if there is a breach a sanction is usually attached such as striking out the claim or ordering costs against you, so it is very important that deadlines are met on time. If you cannot meet a deadline you may need to agree an extension with the other side or make an application to the court for more time.
I will unusually need to see copies of all documents that you have sent to the Court. You sometimes may need to file with the court and serve upon the other side a Certificate of Service. I can assist you in drafting and preparation of this.
Amendments to Documents
Please read all documents carefully and if you require amendments to a document, please email me what amendments you wish to make before you file and serve the document. I can assist you in drafting and preparation of amendments. Please note that written advice will not usually be amended unless there is a factual error.
Directions / Hearings
As a Direct Access Barrister, I will not be on the court record as acting for you and therefore you as the Litigant in Person remain responsible for complying with the court’s directions order on time. Any hearings, where you want me to represent you, must be booked with me, my Client Care Letter including my fees must be agreed upon and paid in advance of the hearing in according with the terms of my Client Care Letter.
Attendance at and Arranging Hearings
Please note that for directions, application, and appeal hearings, you do not normally need to attend the hearing unless you are ordered by the court to do so, but of course, you may attend if you so wish.. If it is a trial, you need to be in attendance together with all your witnesses. Please note that it is for you to arrange the attendance of your witnesses or to issue any Witness Summons on them.
It will usually be up to you to arrange any telephone hearing, and my mobile number 07960304646 and email address [email protected] can be given to the court for any court hearing.
Bundles for Hearings
You will normally be responsible for preparing the bundle for a hearing. Please note on most hearings the Court will require a paginated bundle to be agreed with the other side, and for most hearings, the court will give directions as to what should go into the bundle and this needs to be compiled as per the court order.
For appeal hearings, the court will provide a list of what needs to be in the bundle and the order, including obtaining a copy of the transcript. It is usually up to the claimant/applicant/appellant to provide the bundle and agree it with the other side. Once the bundle has been agreed it needs to be sent to the Court, and the other side. As a Barrister, I cannot normally prepare a bundle, or file/serve it.
Bundles can usually be served by email at court and on the other side, subject to size. You may need to contact the court to see if it can be accepted by email and if not, copies should be posted to arrive in time as per the court order.
The court will normally require a paginated bundle. Guidance can be located here:- https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part32/pd_part32#27.1
Your Legal Fees – Small Claim
A Small Claim is usually a claim with a value (exclusive of interest) of up to £10,000. Generally speaking, legal fees for instructing a Barrister are not recoverable on a Small Claim. The guidance to as what can be recovered is here:- https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part27#27.14
Your Legal Fees- Fast Track and Multi Track
Legal fees incurred can normally be recovered on Fast Track (usually a claim with a value between £10,000.01 and £25,000) and Multi Track (usually a claim with a value of higher than £25,000) unless it is a Fixed Costs case. Generally, you will need to provide a Statement of Costs for the hearing. The guidance for the form to use is here:- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-n260-statement-of-costs-summary-assessment or you may consult a costs lawyer to draft this. As a Direct Access Barrister, I cannot draft this for you, but upon your instructions as per my Client Care Letter, I may assist, advise and review your drafting. Statements of Costs usually need to be filed at the court and served upon the other side 48 hours before the hearing. Please also send a copy to me.
Fixed Fees Cases Issued Post 1 October 2023
A new Fixed Costs regime for all claims with a value up to £100,000 has come into effect on 1 October 2023 for claims issued on or after said date.
On the old regime, if a case is won or lost, the court assesses legal costs on what is known as the standard basis, i.e there is no fixed cap on the recovery of legal costs, the court assesses what is reasonable at the end of a claim and that is what is paid depending on whether the case is won or lost (unless the case is costs budgeted).
The new regime means that the costs are fixed depending on when the claim settles. This does not effect the fees paid to me for the work to be done (which will remain the same) in accordance with the agreed Client Care Letter but may effect recovery, depending on when the claim settles.
The link to the Fixed Costs tables can be found here:-https://www.justice.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/177645/cpr-156-pd-making.pdf
The advantage of the new Fixed Cost regime is that if the case is lost your opponent’s costs are limited to the same amount. The disadvantage of the new regime is that costs become more limited than what can be recovered previously from your opponent if you win.
The new Fixed Cost regime applies to cases issued on or after 1 October 2023. Issued at court means that the claim form is sent to the court and the Court Issue Fee has been paid to the court. As a Direct Access Barrister, I cannot pay Court Fees on your behalf, and therefore any Court Fee needs to be paid directly by you to the Court.
The new Fixed Cost regime does not effect the costs payable by you to me for the work provided in accordance with the agreed Client Care Letter. It only determines what legal costs can be recovered from or by the other side.
Defendant’s Costs
Save for Small Claims, if you lose a case or an application hearing, generally, you will be ordered to pay the other side’s legal costs. It is always advisable to check with any legal expenses insurer you may have if you have cover for these fees or contact a broker to obtain After the Event cover. As a Barrister, I cannot recommend any particular insurance for you and if you have cover, you will need to speak to the insurers and make a claim from them directly.
Trials Conference/ Prospects
If you have a trial booked, I will normally have a conference with you within 24 hours before the hearing unless it has been booked as a separate matter in advance for advice.
A pre-trial conference for trial will include going through what happens at the trial and any questions about the procedure but does not provide a merits assessment.
If you wish to have a conference for advice on the merits or advice on the prospect of success of your case, this will need to be booked separately, be included in the agreed Client Care Letter, and the agreed fee to be paid well in advance of the hearing.
