Two colleagues reviewing a document at a desk

The firm

Fees, and how we charge.

Cost is the thing people are most reluctant to ask about, so we put it first. You get a written notice of our charges before we start work, and an updated one if the picture changes.

Ask for an estimate Estimate a house purchase

The section 150 notice

Section 150 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 requires every solicitor to give you a written notice of legal costs as soon as practicable after taking your instructions. It must set out the charges, or how they will be calculated, along with the outlays and the VAT. If the position changes materially, you must be given an updated notice.

It is not a formality. Read it, and ask about anything in it you do not follow.

Three ways we charge

Which one applies depends on how predictable the work is.

Fixed fee

A known job

A house purchase or sale, a will, an enduring power of attorney, a simple company formation. One figure, agreed before we start, plus outlays and VAT.

Will from €250, enduring power of attorney from €650, purchase or sale of a home from €1,650. All plus VAT and outlays.

Hourly rate

An open ended job

A contested family matter, a dispute, a complex estate. We give you the rate, an estimate of the hours, and a running figure as the work goes on so nothing arrives as a surprise.

Principal €250, solicitor €180, legal executive €110 an hour. All plus VAT.

Stage payments

A long job

Where a matter runs over many months, we bill at agreed points rather than in one lump at the end. The points are set out in the notice at the start.

On longer matters we bill at agreed stages, such as the issue of a grant, and never without telling you first.

What we may not do

Solicitors in Ireland are not permitted to offer an inducement, a discount or a contingency arrangement to attract instructions, and we do not. We also cannot advertise in relation to personal injury claims. If you have seen an arrangement of that kind offered elsewhere, ask who is regulating it.

Questions about the bill

Six answers before you ask.

If your question is not here, ring 0818 44 55 66 and ask. Nobody has ever annoyed us by asking what something costs.

When do I pay

On a purchase, the fee and the outlays are settled at closing out of the funds we hold. On other work, at the end, or at the stages set out in the notice. We will ask for money on account of outlays where we have to pay something out early.

Is VAT extra

Yes. VAT at the standard rate of twenty three per cent applies to our professional fee. It does not apply to most outlays, such as stamp duty or a registration fee.

What if the work turns out bigger than expected

We tell you at the point we find out, in writing, with a revised figure. You then decide whether to go on. We do not add to a bill at the end without having flagged it.

What if a sale falls through

We charge for the work actually done and the outlays actually paid, and we tell you what that figure is. It will not be the full fee for a completed purchase.

Can I query a bill

Yes. Raise it with us first. If it is not resolved, a bill of costs can be referred to the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators, and you can complain to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority.

Our complaints procedure

Is there legal aid for this

Civil legal aid is available for some family and other civil matters through the Legal Aid Board, subject to a means test and a contribution. We do not currently act on the Legal Aid Board's private practitioner panel, but we will tell you who does locally.