Motoring Offences

Motoring Offences

No one chooses to be charged with a criminal offence but when you are it’s important that you have the best representation.  Our motoring offences team is experienced in delivering high quality work in all matters relating to motoring offences and will do all that it can to ensure that you achieve the best possible outcome.

Motoring offence work is generally undertaken by Dominic Cassidy, Partner.

Dominic Cassidy – Partner

Dominic qualified as a solicitor in 1989 and supervises the firm’s criminal law department.

Each of our fee-earners undertakes regular training on the criminal law to ensure that they remain up to date.

Our Fees

Motoring offence work is generally undertaken on the basis of fixed fees.  The following information is provided to assist you in understanding how our fees are calculated.  The prices provided are indicative of the likely cost in a transaction or case and should not be taken as an absolute quote.  You must still contact us to obtain a detailed quote which takes into account the individual circumstances of your transaction or case.  This price information is for assistance in relation to summary only motoring offences under Part I of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and s89 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 only.

Cases involving a Guilty Plea and one court appearance:

Fees: £300.00

VAT: £60.00

Disbursements: £0.00

TOTAL: £360.00

The key stages of your matter are based on the presumption that you have entered, or will be entering, a guilty plea and have a date for your hearing.

• Meet with your solicitor to provide instructions on what happened.
• We will consider initial disclosure, and any other evidence and provide advice.
• We will explain the court procedure to you so you know what to expect on the day of your hearing, and the sentencing options available to the court.
• We will conduct any further preparatory work, obtain further instructions from you if necessary and answer any follow up queries you have.
• We cannot provide an exact time for when your hearing will take place, as this depends on the court listing for that day and how busy the court is.
• We will attend court on the day and meet with you before the case is actually called into the court. We anticipate being at court for no more than half a day.
• We will discuss the outcome with you. If complex advice is required on appeal, this will carry an additional cost.

Our fee includes:

• Up to 2 hours attendance/preparation
• considering evidence
• taking your instructions
• providing advice on likely sentence
• Attendance and representation at a single hearing at the Magistrates Court

The fee does not include:

• instruction of any expert witnesses
• taking statements from any witnesses
• advice and assistance in relation to a ‘special reasons’ or ‘mitigating circumstances’ hearing
• advice or assistance in relation to conducting any appeal

More Complex Guilty Pleas

For more complicated matters, such as several different charges or an argument to avoid a penalty points disqualification (‘mitigating circumstances’)

Fees: £500.00

VAT: £100.00

Disbursements: £0.00

TOTAL: £600.00

The key stages of your matter are based on the presumption that you have entered, or will be entering, a guilty plea and have a date for your hearing.

• Meet with your solicitor to provide instructions on what happened.
• We will consider initial disclosure, and any other evidence and provide advice.
• Arranging to take any witness statements if necessary (this will have an additional cost of £100.00 per hour).
• We will explain the court procedure to you so you know what to expect on the day of your hearing, and the sentencing options available to the court.
• We will conduct any further preparatory work, obtain further instructions from you if necessary and answer any follow up queries you have.
• We cannot provide an exact time for when your hearing will take place, as this depends on the court listing for that day and how busy the court is.
• We will attend court on the day and meet with you before the case is actually called in to the court. We anticipate being at court for no more than half a day.
• We will discuss the outcome with you. If complex advice is required on appeal, this will carry an additional cost.

Our fee includes:

• Up to 3 hours attendance/preparation
• considering evidence
• taking your instructions
• advice and assistance in relation to a special reasons hearing on ‘mitigating circumstances’
• providing advice on likely sentence
• Attendance and representation at no more than two hearings at the Magistrates Court

The fee does not include:

• instruction of any expert witnesses
• taking statements from any witnesses
• advice or assistance in relation to conducting any appeal

Not Guilty Pleas and Trials

Usually involving an initial hearing and the trial itself.

Fees: £750.00

VAT: £150.00

Disbursements: £0.00

TOTAL: £900.00

The key stages of your matter are based on the presumption that you have, from an early stage, settled on pleading not guilty.

• Meet with your solicitor to provide instructions on what happened.
• We will consider initial disclosure, and any other evidence and provide advice.
• Arranging to take any witness statements if necessary.  If it is necessary to take witness statements then this will have an additional cost of £100 per hour.
• We will explain the court procedure to you so you know what to expect on the day of your hearings and the methods the court will use to come to its decision and to sentencing options should you be found guilty.
• We will conduct any further preparatory work, obtain further instructions from you if necessary and answer any follow up queries you have.
• We cannot provide a timescale of when your hearings will take place, as this depends on the court listing and how busy the court it.
• We will attend court on the relevant days and meet with you before the case is called into the court. We anticipate being at court for no more than one day.
• We will discuss the outcome with you. If complex advice is required on appeal, this will carry an additional cost.

Our fee includes:

• Up to 5 hours attendance/preparation:
• considering evidence
• taking your instructions
• instruction of any expert witnesses
• providing advice on likely sentence if convicted
• Attendance and representation at no more than two hearings at the Magistrates Court including trial

The fee does not include:

• advice or assistance in relation to conducting any appeal

In exceptionally difficult matters, or where the court is a considerable distance from our office, we may be required to depart from the fee structure set out above.  We would always tell you in advance if we considered your matter to be exceptionally difficult and would not undertake any chargeable work on your behalf without first obtaining your authority to do so.  In the event that we did consider it necessary to depart from the fee structure set out above then our fees would be based on an hourly rate of £100.00 plus VAT.

Disbursements

In most cases there are unlikely to be any disbursements (out of pocket expenses).

In certain circumstances we may advise you to obtain a report from a specialist or expert witness.  This might be the case if, for example, you had been charged with drink driving and wished to argue that you were only over the limit because you had consumed more alcohol after you had finished driving.  We may advise you to obtain an expert report to establish your alcohol level at the time you were said by the police to have been driving.  If an expert witness is instructed you will be responsible for their fees.  The fees charged will vary depending on the expert instructed and the nature of their instructions.  An average fee would be £1,000 plus VAT.

We may charge mileage if you ask us to attend a court more than fifteen miles away from our office in Wallsend.  If we do charge mileage this would be at 45p/mile plus VAT.