Price Transparency for Clients

Introduction

J Watson Scott & Co Ltd Solicitors is a Firm registered with the Law Society of Scotland. Among many legal practice requirements, the Law Society has issued Guidance on what is called Transparent Pricing. This is information to be made available to clients and potential clients about fees, outlays and costs that may be incurred when instructing solicitors. The Guidance is in place for all firms in Scotland that offer legal services to consumers/private clients.

We have provided some examples of pricing for the range of services in which we practise. These are, as required, only illustrations, not definitive costs. This is because a legal case or transaction is a like a fingerprint – no job is the same as any other job, and the uniqueness of the work is thus matched by the charges for it.  Some kinds of work carry a fixed fee, others are calculated by a scale or unit cost varying with the amount of time or other effort that is appropriate for the completion of the case or transaction. Over and above fees, outlays are charges and costs paid out by the Firm on behalf of the client to other companies, offices, organisations e.g. the sheriff court, the Registers of Scotland, searching companies, local authorities and others. These charges are incurred by the client as a necessary part of the work being done. The Firm makes no margin or profit on these outlays, they are simply passed on to the client at whatever cost is charged by the organisation being paid. We always seek the best deal and economy for the client.

While we have outlined these examples, and we hope they are helpful in describing the shape or configuration of the charges for your work, you can be almost sure that none of them exactly matches it except by chance in a few limited cases. But this unavoidable mismatch is dealt with by another Law Society of Scotland requirement. All work to be carried out by solicitors in this firm or any other must be preceded by a written estimate or quotation of fees, vat, and outlays to be incurred or expended. This costing is part of an obligation to issue clients with Terms of Engagement – a set of information made up of a formal letter and other related documentation.

Clients or potential clients reading this Price Transparency material should contact one of our solicitors for the specific and detailed estimate/quotation of fees as well as discussing the work to be done and any other preliminary matters.

Areas of work