Reasonable meeting length.
We offer unlimited time on initial consultations, which enable our clients to take the time needed to explain the details of their matter. Each of our consultations are booked for an initial 90 minute timeslot and, where necessary, we are happy to exceed this if:
- we deem it is reasonable to do so, and;
- that it would be beneficial to our understanding of your case.
In all circumstances, any additional time spent over the initial 90 minutes is not charged for and is covered under our initial consultation fee.
Please note that initial consultations cannot be used in place of formal legal advice. For example, if you possess a contract and require a contract review, we will not be able to provide full written advice during the initial consultation.
Securing your initial consultation.
To ensure the best appointment availability for all of our clients and to be able to effectively manage our unlimited time offering, the following steps are in place:
- You must ensure payment for your initial consultation is made at least 2 working days prior to the date of the appointment, unless notified otherwise, or the appointment is scheduled for the next day.
- We will contact you at 2 working days prior to your initial consultation (or the preceding Friday if your appointment is scheduled for a Monday) to advise that we are yet to receive payment.
- If we do not receive payment by 2 working days prior to the date of your initial consultation, we will call you to confirm whether you still require the appointment and, if we are unable to get through, we will leave a voicemail if there is a facility to do so. If we are unable to speak to you, your initial consultation will be cancelled, and the timeslot released to accommodate other clients’ needs.
- If you contact us after your initial consultation is cancelled, our Client Care team will try to accommodate your request at the next available date. The Client Care team can be reached on 020 3007 5500.
- We reserve the right to withdraw our services from any clients who repeatedly book initial consultations and fail to secure them in advance, or to remove our fixed fee offering and replace it with our standard hourly fee structure.
- Payments for initial consultations are non-refundable and non-transferable.
Please also kindly note that we are unable to take cash payments for initial consultations.
Changing the date of your initial consultation.
You can change the date of your initial consultation by calling our Client Care team on 020 3007 5500, or emailing us at [email protected]. Please note that the following restrictions apply:
- For initial consultations that have already been paid for and secured, you may change the date of the initial consultation at any time up to 48 hours before the day of your appointment.
- For initial consultations that have not been secured, changes can be made up to 2 working days prior to the date of the appointment, after which they will be automatically cancelled if payment is not received.
- If you wish to change the date within 48 hours of your appointment, you may incur additional fees.
Please note that when making changes to your appointment, we will not always be able to guarantee your preferred new date and time, however we will try to find an alternative convenient to you.
We reserve the right to withdraw our services from any clients who repeatedly change the date of their initial consultation.
Late arrivals.
Should you be running late for your initial consultation at any time, we ask that you please inform us with as much notice as possible.
We make every effort to maintain our appointment schedule for the benefit of all our clients, including those with appointments later in the day.
If you are running more than 15 minutes late for your appointment, we may take the decision to cancel your appointment to protect the schedule for the day. For appointments cancelled in this way, we will endeavour to accommodate your appointment on the next available date.
Please note that we will not refund appointments that have been cancelled due to lateness.
Cancelling your initial consultation.
From time to time, we understand your needs may change and that a consultation may no longer be required, however once your appointment has been paid for, we are unable to refund your payment nor transfer it to anyone else.
If Your Initial Consultation Is Cancelled By Us
Due to the nature of our work, there may be times when our solicitors are called out of the office at short notice, and we may be required to cancel your appointment. In the unlikely case this happens, we endeavour to contact you as soon as possible to advise you and minimise any inconvenience to you.
Under these circumstances, we acknowledge the inconvenience caused to you, and we will offer to either re-book your consultation for the next available date, or offer a full refund.
Case documentation.
We strongly encourage all our clients to send electronic copies of any relevant documentation to us at [email protected] at least 1 working day prior to the date of the initial consultation. This allows the solicitor holding your consultation to review the documentation and ensures you receive the highest quality of advice during your consultation.
If you do not have scanning facilities, we also accept bundles of documents by post, or hand delivery to our offices in Hove.
We will, where possible, inform you of what documentation would be helpful to our understanding of your case. Where you have provided bundles of documentation exceeding 10 pages, we may not be able to review all of the documentation prior to, or during your initial consultation. We will, however, review the documentation we deem necessary to assist your understanding of your legal matter and if you chose to instruct the firm then a full reading service will be offered.
Subsequent initial consultations for potential clients.
We understand that some clients may have extensive legal requirements that cover a number of matters, and we welcome the opportunity to advise on any such matters that we can help with.
We may, from time to time, choose to offer complimentary initial consultations to previous clients who have instructed the firm for additional legal matters as a token of our gratitude (a gesture of goodwill).
For clients who have previously had an initial consultation on a particular matter and chosen not to instruct the firm, subsequent appointments with a solicitor regarding the same matter will be charged at the standard hourly rate depending on the seniority of the solicitor you are meeting with.
If you are returning to the firm with a separate and new matter to the firm and have not previously instructed the firm, you will be eligible to enjoy an untimed initial consultation at your solicitor’s standard hourly rate, but not the introductory fixed fee consultation.