Fees & Pricing
Fixed Fees & Tailored Quotations
AJW is a small, independent consultancy. We offer fixed costs for defined work, such as court-claim document support, and individual quotes for more complex cases. We explain the options and their costs so you can make an informed choice. The scope, fee, payment terms and any applicable VAT are confirmed in writing before you authorise work. An enquiry is not a paid consultation or a commitment to proceed.
Fixed-Fee Services
For an agreed piece of work, including court-claim drafting and document support where unreserved, we confirm a fixed fee and exactly what it covers. If you act in person, you remain responsible for issuing, filing and serving your claim. If an authorised solicitor is instructed, their written terms identify the court work they take on. Court fees and other charges are separate unless expressly included.
Complex Matters & Bespoke Quotes
Where a case needs more detailed review or specialist advice, we provide a quote tailored to the work involved. Discuss your budget with us before deciding; any extra work or fee change needs your agreement first.
01 · Discuss your needs
Tell us the issue, your priorities and any urgent deadlines. We first establish whether the work is suitable for our consultancy.
02 · Agree the work & fee
Your written quote identifies what is included and excluded. Where a specialist can be secured at a discounted rate through our connections, the quote shows it. Court fees, expert reports, barristers and other third-party costs are separate from our consultancy fee unless expressly included.
03 · Choose whether to proceed
You decide whether to accept. Any additional work or revised fee needs your agreement first. Advice can identify risks and options, but no result or recovery is guaranteed.
A quote specific to your matter, agreed before work begins.
Every case starts with a consultation
Each matter needs a consultation so we can assess the facts, give an honest view of the merits and realistic prospects of success, and confirm a written quotation. The ranges below are a guide: the final fee depends on complexity and urgency. Our fees include VAT. Court fees are set by HM Courts & Tribunals Service, paid on top and may change; Help with Fees can reduce them.
Consultation Options
Initial Case Assessment
£49 – £69
30 minutes · phone or video
- Review of the key facts and documents you send
- Honest view on merits and realistic prospects of success
- Written fixed fee or quotation for next steps
- Fee credited against your first piece of work if you instruct us
Full Advice Consultation
£95 – £145
60 minutes · in depth
- Detailed review of documents and evidence
- Options, risks, costs and likely timescales explained
- Short written summary of advice and action points
- Fee credited if you instruct us within 28 days
Senior Specialist Consultation
From £195
Senior solicitor or barrister, including KC
- Arranged through our professional connections
- Preferential rate secured where available
- Specialist fee confirmed in writing before booking
- Suited to complex, high-value or serious matters
Price Guide by Practice Area
Civil & Tort Law
Letter before claim (pre-action protocol)
Our fee: £79 – £149
Court fee: None
Money claim drafting (N1 / Money Claim Online)
Issue fee depends on claim value; 5% of claims between £10,000 and £200,000
Our fee: £149 – £349
Court fee: £35 – £10,000
Defence or counterclaim drafting
Counterclaims carry the same fee as a claim of that value
Our fee: £149 – £349
Court fee: None – as claim fee
Request for default judgment
Our fee: £49 – £79
Court fee: None
General application (N244)
£123 by consent or without notice; £313 on notice
Our fee: £125 – £295
Court fee: £123 – £313
Application to set aside a CCJ
Our fee: £195 – £395
Court fee: £313
Small claims hearing preparation & witness statements
Hearing fee depends on claim value
Our fee: £195 – £495
Court fee: £27 – £346
Personal injury, police & public-body claims
Assessed at consultation; no-win-no-fee may be available through a partner firm
Our fee: By quotation
Court fee: Varies
Debt Recovery & Judgment Enforcement
Charging order
Our fee: £149 – £199
Court fee: £139
Third-party debt order
Our fee: £149 – £199
Court fee: £139
Attachment of earnings order
Our fee: £125 – £175
Court fee: £139
Judgment summons
Our fee: £149 – £199
Court fee: £139
Order for debtor to attend court for questioning
Our fee: £69 – £99
Court fee: £100
Warrant of control (County Court bailiff)
Our fee: £125 – £175
Court fee: £96
Transfer up & High Court writ of control (HCEO)
High Court Enforcement Officer statutory fees are usually recovered from the debtor
Our fee: £175 – £295
Court fee: £78
Possession order (landlord / property)
Our fee: £295 – £595
Court fee: £404
Family Law
Non-molestation or occupation order application
Our fee: £295 – £695
Court fee: None
Child arrangements application (C100)
Mediation (MIAM) usually required first unless exempt
Our fee: £295 – £595
Court fee: £263
Divorce application support
Our fee: £295 – £495
Court fee: £612
Financial consent order
Our fee: £295 – £595
Court fee: £60
Criminal Law
There is no court fee to defend a criminal charge or to appeal a Magistrates’ Court decision to the Crown Court. A fine, victim surcharge, compensation order or prosecution costs is ordered at the end of a case, usually after a conviction. Free, independent advice is always available at the police station through the duty solicitor, whatever your income. Our fees cover private advice, preparation and arranging representation.
Police station & PACE rights consultation
What to say in interview, how silence can be treated, bail conditions and the PACE 1984 codes explained before you are questioned.
Our fee: £69 – £125
Heard at: Police station
Caution & non-conviction record advice
Whether accepting a caution or conditional caution is sensible. Both need an admission and your consent, and disclosure rules differ from a conviction.
Our fee: £99 – £249
Heard at: Police station
Representations against charge (pre-charge)
Written representations for no further action or an out-of-court disposal. No court fee applies at this stage.
Our fee: £99 – £295
Heard at: CPS / police
DBS, filtering & spent-conviction advice
What you must disclose for a job, licence or travel, how filtering works, and how to challenge an inaccurate or unlawfully retained record.
Our fee: £99 – £249
Heard at: Police / DBS
Bail application or variation
No court fee. A second application generally needs new circumstances or a change in the law, so the first application matters.
Our fee: £149 – £295
Heard at: Magistrates' Court
Summary-only motoring offence
Speeding, no insurance, mobile phone use, failing to provide a specimen. Includes penalty-points and totting-up analysis, and an exceptional-hardship argument where a disqualification would cost you your livelihood.
Our fee: £149 – £295
Heard at: Magistrates' Court
Mitigation, plea letter & character references
Sentencing-guideline review, the early guilty plea reduction explained, and help gathering character references before sentencing.
Our fee: £149 – £295
Heard at: Magistrates' or Crown
Common assault, battery & harassment defence
Summary-only allegations, with advice on any ancillary order the court can make alongside sentence, such as a restraining order.
Our fee: £175 – £395
Heard at: Magistrates' Court
Disclosure & evidence review
The prosecution file and unused material reviewed: CCTV, phone and device data, cell log, witness accounts and expert evidence.
Our fee: £195 – £495
Heard at: Magistrates' or Crown
Either-way offence: allocation & trial preparation
Theft, actual bodily harm, section 20 GBH, drug possession. Advice on allocation, whether to elect the Crown Court, and the sentence risk either way.
Our fee: £249 – £695
Heard at: Magistrates' or Crown
Post-conviction appeal advice
Appeal against conviction or sentence, case stated to the High Court, Court of Appeal, or a Criminal Cases Review Commission referral. The CCRC is free to apply to, usually once ordinary appeal routes have been used, and appeal time limits are short.
Our fee: £249 – £695
Heard at: Crown / High Court
Confiscation & proceeds of crime
Benefit figures, available assets and the prosecution statement reviewed, with representations made before an order is finalised. A confiscation order follows conviction and is worked out from the statutory rules, not a fixed tariff.
Our fee: £495 – £1,495
Heard at: Crown Court
Indictable-only allegation (serious)
Section 18 GBH with intent, rape, manslaughter, murder, perverting the course of justice. A senior solicitor, barrister or KC review is recommended; criminal legal aid may cover representation.
Our fee: From £750 · by quotation
Heard at: Crown Court
Court advocacy by a solicitor or barrister
Reserved advocacy is carried out by an authorised solicitor or barrister and their fee is confirmed in writing. Criminal legal aid may be available — we will tell you if it is.
Our fee: By quotation
Heard at: Magistrates' or Crown
Employment Law
Contract or settlement agreement review
Our fee: £149 – £295
Court fee: None
Grievance or appeal letter
Our fee: £95 – £195
Court fee: None
Employment Tribunal claim drafting (ET1)
ACAS early conciliation is required first
Our fee: £295 – £595
Court fee: None
Private Client, Wills & LPAs
Single will
Our fee: £195 – £345
Court fee: None
Mirror wills (couples)
Our fee: £295 – £495
Court fee: None
Lasting power of attorney (one type)
Office of the Public Guardian registration fee
Our fee: £195 – £295
Court fee: £92
Financial Guidance & Insolvency
Debt options consultation
Debt management plans are set up through an authorised debt adviser
Our fee: £69 – £125
Court fee: None
Creditor correspondence & dispute letters
Our fee: £79 – £195
Court fee: None
Bankruptcy or DRO guidance
DRO via approved intermediary; bankruptcy application to the Adjudicator
Our fee: £125 – £295
Court fee: £90 – £680
Packages
Bundled work at a better rate than booking each step separately.
Complete Debt Recovery
£395 – £695
+ court fees for claim and enforcement
- Pre-action protocol letter before claim
- Money claim drafted and prepared for issue
- Default judgment request or hearing preparation
- One enforcement method of your choice to CCJ enforcement
LPA Pair: Financial & Health
£345 – £495
+ £184 registration (2 × £92)
- Property & financial affairs LPA
- Health & welfare LPA
- Guidance on attorneys and certificate provider
- Registration support with the Office of the Public Guardian
Couples Wills & LPAs
£795 – £1,195
+ £368 registration (4 × £92)
- Mirror wills for both partners
- Both LPA types for each partner
- Signing and witnessing instructions
- One follow-up review within 12 months
Protective Order Package
£395 – £795
No court fee
- Urgent consultation and safety-focused advice
- Non-molestation and/or occupation order application
- Witness statement drafted with you
- Hearing preparation and next-step guidance
Employment Claim Package
£495 – £895
No tribunal fee
- Full case review and merits assessment
- Grievance or appeal letter
- ACAS early conciliation guidance
- ET1 claim drafting
Police & Criminal Advice Package
£295 – £595
No court fee to defend a charge
- Police station and PACE rights advice before interview
- Pre-charge representations where they are likely to help
- Disclosure and evidence review with a written merits view
- Hearing preparation, then referral to a solicitor or barrister for advocacy
Payment by invoice. We invoice for each agreed stage, payable by bank transfer. Court fees are paid directly to the court or invoiced at cost with no mark-up.
Regulated court work. Where an authorised solicitor or barrister carries out reserved court work, their fees and terms are confirmed in writing before you commit. No outcome is guaranteed.
Other funding & help with court fees
Private advice is not the only route. Legal aid, free police-station advice or court fee help may be relevant. AJW does not provide legal aid; applications go to the Legal Aid Agency, the court or a contracted provider. Help with court fees does not pay our consultancy charges.
Free advice at the police station
If you are questioned or arrested at a police station in England and Wales, you have the right to free, independent legal advice — from a solicitor of your choice or the independent duty solicitor on call. No means test and no legal aid application is needed for that advice, whatever you earn or save.
Criminal legal aid in court
Court representation is assessed separately. Magistrates' Court cases are usually tested against both the interests of justice and your means, and people on certain benefits commonly pass the means test automatically. Crown Court means testing can lead to income or capital contributions; if you are found not guilty at trial, contributions are normally returned with interest.
Civil legal aid — what it does and does not cover
Civil legal aid is narrower than many people assume. It can cover, among other matters, protecting you or a child from abuse or harassment, losing your home, family mediation and related finances or children cases where evidence of domestic abuse exists, discrimination, and challenging the way a public body has made a decision about you. It is generally unavailable for ordinary debt (unless your home is at risk), most personal injury claims, and employment disputes that do not involve discrimination. Financial eligibility turns on income and capital, with some benefits passporting the income test.
Police and public-authority claims
Most personal injury claims sit outside legal aid — but a claim in tort, or a damages claim, against a public authority that involves a significant breach of Convention rights can fall within scope. An unlawful arrest, false imprisonment or excessive-force claim may therefore be capable of assessment for public funding in a way an ordinary road accident claim is not.
Help with Fees — form EX160
If you cannot afford a court or tribunal fee, the Help with Fees remission scheme can reduce or remove it. Eligibility depends on your savings, income and the benefits you receive — including Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, and Universal Credit where annual earnings are below the set limit. Apply online or on form EX160, before or after paying; if you paid a fee within the last three months while eligible, you can ask for it back. The EX160C calculator indicates the level of help, and Scotland and Northern Ireland run separate schemes.
Applications that carry no court fee
Some applications attract no fee at all: applying for a non-molestation order, an occupation order or a domestic abuse protection order in England and Wales is free of court fee, and legal aid may cover legal costs where evidence of domestic abuse is provided. Employment Tribunal claim fees were abolished in 2017, so issuing a claim normally costs nothing — though Acas Early Conciliation is usually needed first. Other filings, such as a divorce application or a money claim, do carry fees, which is where a remission matters.
Other ways to fund a case
Where legal aid does not apply, other routes may: a conditional fee agreement ("no win, no fee") for a suitable personal injury claim; legal expenses insurance that can already sit inside a motor or home policy; trade union representation; and free specialist or charitable help — Law Centres, Citizens Advice, Rights of Women, Refuge, Women's Aid and the Men's Advice Line for abuse matters, and MoneyHelper, National Debtline or StepChange for debt.
Legal aid thresholds, fee levels and scope are revised regularly. Always check the current GOV.UK guidance or Civil Legal Advice before relying on a figure, and take advice early — funding decisions and limitation deadlines often run at the same time.