Frequently asked questions

• When do I have to pay my £150 fixed fee?

  As soon as you have completed the legal aid questionnaire and we have determined you don't qualify to receive financial assistance from the Government. We are required by law to determine if you qualify for government help to pay for your case. Once this is done we will select a barrister for your case, at this stage we'll send you a message to tell you that we can help you and to advise you to make your payment online. You will also be asked to accept the individual barrister's terms and conditions [called a client care letter]

• How long will I have to wait for initial advice?

  Once you have paid your £150 fixed fee the barrister's advice will be supplied to you normally within 3 working days, if the barrister has further questions before he can provide you with the advice he or she will contact you and you will receive your advice within 3 working days of answering those questions.

• If the Barrister's advice is positive and I do have a case, what happens next?

  It's then your choice as to whether or not you wish to take the case forward. If you do, simply tell the barrister using our messaging service and he will advise you what to do next, if this is to instruct a solicitor or mediator we help you find the right one too.

• Why do I now need to use a solicitor? Why can't I just carry on with the Barrister who has provided the initial advice?

  In certain circumstances you can carry on with just your barrister and where this is the case you will be informed. Your barrister will always advise you as to the best way forward and in complicated cases or where there are lots of documents sometimes a solicitor can help,alongside a barrister, work towards the best result for you.

• If I have a case, do I then have to find my own solicitor to proceed?

  No, we work closely with a network of reputable solicitors throughout the UK, if you want our help we can pass your details and advice to a solicitor usually recommended by your barrister. If you're happy and it's possible your barrister can stay with your case throughout.

• Why did I not qualify for Barrister's advice after filling in the legal aid questionnaire?

  If you are likely to qualify for legal aid (financial assistance) we are bound to tell you about this and under the current regulations a barrister is prohibited from acting for you alone in a legally aided case. We can still help you by suggesting an expert solicitor if you wish.

• What is mediation?

  The term mediation broadly refers to any instance in which a third party helps others reach agreement. Sometimes disputes can be resolved without the need for expensive court cases. It's a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties with concrete effects. Typically a third party (the mediator) assists both sides to negotiate a settlement. The mediator is a neutral party so the outcome is fair for both sides. Lots of disputes are resolved using a mediator including commercial, legal, workplace, community and family matters. If mediation is considered the best method of resolving the dispute, the barrister will advise this route and we can help put you in touch with a mediation service.

• If I win my case is my original £150 refunded to me too?

  No, the £150 is a fixed fee that is not refundable. The advantage to you is knowing from the outset how much you will have to pay to find out if you have a case and advice on how to proceed. In the past this usually involved lengthy conferences with solicitors and potential unknown expense to you at which point your case was passed to a barrister to advise we cut out the middle man and pass the saving to you.

• I can't fund a case even though the advice is that I do have one with a good chance of winning.
  Can I proceed on this basis?

  There are various ways to fund any potential litigation and we're here to help you navigate through the options. You can pay the costs yourself, insure yourself against potential costs or, in certain cases, seek outside funding. Because you will already have an advice from a barrister saying you have a good case the process of obtaining funding can be made significantly easier and if you ask us to we can pass your details on to someone who can help you.

• How can you provide me with the right advice based on one simple question?

  Once you have told us your general concern, we will assign the right barrister to your case who is specialist in that field. You will then be asked to complete a simple (but more in-depth) questionnaire before your barrister provides you with your specialist advice.

• What do I get for my £150?

  The £150 entitles you to a written advice from your barrister. If you think you need further advice or if you decide that you want your barrister to help you resolve your problem by going to court or mediating on your behalf, then you will need to agree a further fee with your barrister for the extra work that you want them to do. your barrister will not be able to assist you over and above providing the preliminary written advice unless a further fee is agreed.