Costs
We charge fees by reference to a written Costs Agreement that you will be asked to sign. The Costs Agreement sets out the way we charge for our services. The Costs Agreement also details the hourly rates charged by each of our lawyers. Each lawyer has a different hourly rate depending on his or her seniority and level of experience. Our lawyers have a broad range of hourly rates. We will also provide you with written information about your rights in relation to legal costs.
It is important to be aware that all Courts have a scale of Costs that is prescribed and in used most often when the Court awards costs against another party. This happens rarely in the Family Law jurisdiction, since, the Court normally adopts the principle that each party should bear their own costs. However, costs orders are made against a party who has been obstructive, refused to make proper disclosure of information, or failed to accept an offer that has ultimately resembled the outcome decided by the Court.
We provide cost estimates at your first interview, or shortly thereafter, of the approximate overall costs that may be charged at the different stages of your matter, whether the matter settles or proceeds to Court. Many factors can affect your overall legal costs as your case progresses, more particularly the conduct of the other party, and whether they are co-operative. We are often asked, “How much will it cost?” This is not an easy answer to give because there are so many factors that determine the answer. The best we can do is give you an estimated range of the costs you may expect to pay, based on what we know about your matter at the time we are giving the estimate. Some cases which come to us, may appear straight forward initially, however, something happens, or more information comes to light (such as a party not disclosing certain vital information) and completely changing the nature of the matter.
Sometimes, clients come to us saying “the deal has been done and we just want to formalise it”. If that is genuinely the case, then that is fine. However, we often find that, in fact, the matter requires some further negotiation, and consequently, the costs increase. But you can be certain that we will do our utmost to inform you, with the information that we have at hand, of what the range of cost is likely to be.
At Barbayannis Lawyers we will send you regular bills so that you are kept appraised of your ongoing legal costs, and we will update our cost estimates, if necessary, as each matter progresses. No substantial disbursements (such as engaging accountants, barristers, psychologists or valuers) will be incurred on your behalf without first discussing them with you beforehand.
If you cannot afford to pay your costs regularly, we can enter into an arrangement with you, on terms to be discussed, for the costs to be paid at the end of your matter or when a settlement takes place.
As an alternative, you can apply for litigation funding, also known as legal financing, if you want us to continue to act for you. The details of the major litigation funders can be found on our Resources and News tabs.
In certain circumstances you may apply for a part property settlement in order to fund some of your legal costs. This means that, if successful, the Court makes an interim order for payment of a lump sum of money or an asset is sold, to enable you to pay your legal costs and any disbursements such as barristers’ fees, accounting and valuation fees.