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Road Traffic Offences - Our Fees

At Nelson Guest & Partners, we only work on an agreed and fixed fee basis. We believe this provides you with peace of mind in having certainty over what you are paying for and avoiding the possibility of any hidden or surprise costs.

In each road traffic matter, we will set out the work included (which will be tailored, as appropriate, to your individual case) in an engagement letter to you, if you decide to instruct us. However, this guidance aims to provide you with transparency regarding expected costs and work included.

A typical road traffic offence case would include the following events and timescales:

We aim to meet with you in person prior to your ‘first appearance’ court hearing, to discuss the available evidence and your instructions, at least one week before the hearing (although we accept instructions at shorter notice if necessary).

We will prepare for and attend the ‘first appearance’ hearing to represent you:
- If you plead guilty, we will mitigate on your behalf to achieve the best sentence possible. We aim to dispose of the case on the day, however this is sometimes not possible, for instance, if the Judge requires a pre-sentence report or there is a lack of court time.
- If you plead not guilty, we will put the court and prosecution on notice of the relevant defence issues, complete a ‘Preparation for Effective Trial’ form and a trial date will be set. This is typically 2 – 3 months after the first appearance hearing, which is largely dependent on court availability. Corona Virus has not helped in expediting Court hearings, and there can often now be a slightly longer period between a first appearance and a trial date, dependant on the area and the volume of the Courts listings.

If the matter is proceeding to trial, the court itself will set deadlines for the prosecution to serve evidence and for the defence to serve any defence case statement, skeleton arguments, or other relevant applications. We will meet with you again as soon as possible after this hearing to discuss the necessary preparation work for your trial and agree a fee.

At the trial, after hearing the case, the Magistrates or District Judge will deliver a verdict:
- If you are found guilty, you may be sentenced on the same date, or the case may be adjourned (typically for one month) for a sentence hearing.
- If you are found not guilty, the case will conclude, and we will request that the court grant a Defence Costs Order (DCO) to cover your legal costs (although this is only up to the legal aid rate).

If there is a separate sentence hearing, we will meet with you again prior to the hearing to take further instructions for mitigation and give you further advice on sentence.

As above, each case turns on its facts and it may be necessary for other hearings to take place, such as special reasons hearings, case management hearings, hearings to make or oppose special measures or hearsay applications, or applications for disclosure.

Whilst we do our very best to avoid any unnecessary prolongments of your case, hearings being adjourned due to lack of court time, or some other spurious reason is unfortunately an unavoidable occurrence on some occasions. If this does occur, an additional fixed fee will be payable for representation at the adjourned hearing if you would like us to attend.

Agreed and Fixed fee: Between £750 - £2,000 plus 20% VAT

This fee is dependent upon the nature of the hearing and the work involved.

Preparation for and representation at each court hearing attracts a separate agreed fixed fee, unless expressly agreed otherwise with us. As the facts and circumstances of each case vary significantly, it would be impossible to provide a specified fixed fee for every scenario without reviewing the particular case papers in advance.

We have therefore provided a range of expected costs and the work that you can reasonably expect to be included below, including any factors that, if applicable, would be likely to increase the fee. Please note that these ranges of costs are subject to any unforeseen or unusual complexities arising, which could include (but not limited to) factors such as the proximity of the court venue and excessive length of the prosecution evidence. We will always notify you of any such complexities arising as soon as practicable.

This guidance is not intended to be binding and is presented as a guide only; it is not an exact science.

First appearance at the Magistrates’ Court

Preparation work up to and representation at one hearing only.
Agreed and Fixed fee: Between £950 - £2,000 plus 20% VAT

The agreed and fixed fee would include:

- - A dedicated Case Manager to handle your case internally;
  - Obtaining the case papers from the Crown Prosecution Service or other prosecution agency and perusing this for any potential defence issues;
  - A conference of reasonable length with you in preparation for the hearing to advise you on plea, the evidence and sentence generally;
  - Taking your instructions so far as we advise is appropriate;
  - Liaising with the court and the prosecution in relation to general case management issues;
  - Advice on mitigation in the event of a guilty plea and the implications of a pre-sentence report;
  - In the event of a guilty plea, a full plea in mitigation in order to achieve the best sentence possible;
  - In the event of a not guilty plea, dealing with all case management issues, including (but not limited to) dealing with what evidence can be agreed, what evidence is in dispute, the relevant law and any case law relied on, the time span for cross-examination of witnesses, court directions for service of skeleton arguments on points of law and appropriate service dates, whether it is intended that a defence case statement will be served etc; and,
  - Representation at the hearing, including costs of the advocate’s travel (including mileage, fares and/or parking), waiting, attendance and advocacy times.

The agreed and fixed fee would not include and (if necessary) would likely increase the fee:

- - Drafting and serving representations to the prosecution;
  - Drafting a letter of instruction to and liaising with an expert;
  - Obtaining any evidence beyond the scope of ‘initial disclosure’, such as collecting CCTV footage, interview discs or a custody record; and,
  - Advice and assistance in relation to any appeal.

This is a non-exhaustive list. The ‘Likely Disbursements and Costs’ list should also be considered. If you have any queries regarding other factors / work which are not listed here and may be relevant to your case, please contact the office for clarification.

Trial at the Magistrates’ Court

Preparation work up to and representation at one hearing only.
Agreed and Fixed fee: Between £5,000 - £8,000 plus 20% VAT

The agreed and fixed fee would include:

- - A dedicated Case Manager to handle your case internally;
  - A conference of reasonable length with you in preparation for the hearing to advise you on plea, the evidence and sentence generally;
  - Taking your instructions so far as we advise is appropriate;
  - Liaising with the court and the prosecution in relation to general case management issues;
  - Chasing initial disclosure of evidence from the prosecution;
  - Providing advice on alternative options, such as a change of plea or basis of plea; Meeting with witnesses and taking statements;
  - Preparing and serving exhibits (depending on the quantity of exhibits);
  - Preparing a proof of evidence;
  - Serving and opposing Section 9 statements;
  - Recording your comments on the statements;
  - Requesting a copy of the PET form;
  - Preparation of an examination-in-chief, cross-examination, closing speech and potential legal arguments arising at trial;
  - Representation at the hearing, including costs of the advocate’s travel (including mileage, fares and/or parking), waiting, attendance and advocacy times.

The agreed and fixed fee would not include and (if necessary) would likely increase the fee:

- - Preparation and service of a defence case statement;
  - Drafting and/or opposing hearsay applications;
  - Drafting and/or opposing bad character applications;
  - Drafting and/or opposing special measures applications;
  - Drafting and serving skeleton arguments;
  - Drafting and serving a basis of plea;
  - Site or witness visits;
  - Scene photographs;
  - Drafting and serving representations to the prosecution;
  - Drafting a letter of instruction to and liaising with an expert;
  - Obtaining any evidence beyond the scope of ‘initial disclosure’, such as collecting CCTV footage, interview discs or a custody record;
  - Making a Section 8 CPIA 1994 application (to obtain evidence withheld by the prosecution);
  - Advice on Newton hearings;
  - Additional conferences;
  - Advice and assistance in relation to a ‘special reasons’ hearing; and,
  - Advice and assistance in relation to any appeal.

Sentence at the Magistrates’ Court (if listed as a separate hearing)

Preparation work up to and representation at one hearing only.
Agreed and Fixed fee: Between £950 - £2,000 plus 20% VAT

The agreed and fixed fee would include:

- - A dedicated Case Manager to handle your case internally;
  - A conference of reasonable length with you in preparation for the hearing to advise you on plea, the evidence and sentence generally;
  - Taking your instructions on mitigation, so far as we advise is appropriate;
  - Liaising with the court and the prosecution in relation to general case management issues;
  - Chasing initial disclosure of evidence from the prosecution (if any evidence material to sentence is still outstanding);
  - Advice and reasonable assistance in gathering character references and other mitigation documents;
  - Advice on the sentencing guidelines;
  - Preparation of a plea in mitigation;
  - Representation at the hearing, including costs of the advocate’s travel (including mileage, fares and/or parking), waiting, attendance and advocacy times.

The agreed and fixed fee would not include and (if necessary) would likely increase the fee:

- - Drafting and serving representations to the prosecution;
  - Drafting a letter of instruction to and liaising with an expert;
  - Obtaining any evidence beyond the scope of ‘initial disclosure’, such as collecting CCTV footage, interview discs or a custody record (if relevant to sentence);
  - Additional conferences;
  - Advice and assistance in relation to a ‘special reasons’ hearing; and,
  - Advice and assistance in relation to any appeal.

Likely Disbursements and Costs

In most cases, particularly those proceeding to trial after a not guilty plea, we would advise instructing a relevant expert. Whilst our costs for instructing an expert are generally included in an agreed fee, expert fees are not included, and we will usually arrange for you to make payment directly to the relevant expert.

There are various types of experts that we recommend instructing on road traffic cases. The most common include:

- - Psychiatrists – ranges from £1,500 - £3,000 including 20% VAT.
  - Blood Alcohol Calculation – ranges from £300 - £600 including 20% VAT.
  - EBM machine expert – ranges from £300 - £600 including 20% VAT.
  - Road Traffic Reconstruction Expert – depending on location and severity, generally ranges from £1,200 - £3,000 including 20% VAT.
  - Forensic Scientist – depending on quantity of evidence, generally ranges from £1,000 - £2,000 including 20% VAT.
  - Examples of other common disbursements include the following (the price of which will be exclusive of our fee and depends completely on the relevant location):
  - Process Servers
  - Couriers
  - Fees for medical records

Instructed counsel’s fee is usually incorporated within our fee. The cost of counsel completely depends on their level of experience and qualification. We will always advise you regarding this particular aspect of the fee in advance.

Who will deal with my road traffic case?

The road traffic matters are generally handled by our driving team. We have four members of the team who may work on your case, as outlined below. Regardless of who works on your matter, they will be supervised by Ross Greig.

Generally, we seek to ensure that you receive continuity of service by having a point of contact in the office. This means that any queries can be answered expediently if the advocate in the case is at Court handling other matters.

There are occasions where you may be directed or referred to specialist counsel, who we work closely with on a regular basis. We will do this when we feel the case merits such an instruction (but we will always discuss this with you in advance and it is ultimately your choice).

Ross Greig - Solicitor and Higher Court Advocate

Ross qualified as a Lawyer in 2011 and went on to become a Solicitor with Higher Rights of Audience in 2019. He is renowned for his success rate on road traffic matters. Ross represents the vast majority of our private clients at the first hearing and is regularly instructed to conduct trials. He also supervises our Road Traffic matters.

Ross represents our clients across a spectrum of road traffic matters. Ross has successfully defended cases involving allegations of drink driving, drug driving, failing to provide a sample and being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle. Ross is generally considered to be a trial advocate but also attends to deal with the complex nature of driving related matters at the case management stage, where, more often than not, addressing the legal issues becomes an imperative stage of any success.

Ross regularly acts for clients with speeding offences, special reasons arguments, and driving licence application matters including appeals against decisions by regulatory bodies such as the DVLA and TFL, which are heard in the Magistrates’ Court.

Ross also represents clients regularly in the Crown Court, where he appears on behalf of Defendants.

Ryan Dormer – Solicitor

Ryan became a Solicitor with High Rights in 2020 having previously studied Law at the University of Kent.

Ryan has over 7 years’ experience handling road traffic matters with us, including (but not limited to) dangerous driving, careless driving, drink driving, being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle and drug driving. Ryan has significant experience in preparing road traffic matters for trial and holds detailed knowledge of the statutory provisions.

Ryan has completed various professional development courses regarding road traffic law, along with criminal law updates.

Joana Santos – Trainee Solicitor

Joana is a Trainee Solicitor. She completed her Legal Practice Course successfully in February 2022 and intends to go on to practice as a Solicitor in her own right in the future.

Joana has gained an extensive knowledge in regard to road traffic matters where she assists the Partners. She has gone on to receive extensive and positive feedback for her hard work, dedication, and knowledge in relation to road traffic cases generally.

Joana works most closely with Ross.