COSTS

General Information

Before any decision is made as to how to proceed with your case, we will need copies of all relevant paperwork. We will then need to analyse these documents and have a detailed discussion with you, and then confirm our advice to you in writing.

In cases concerning Special Educational Needs and Disability Discrimination, sometimes an appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) will be inevitable; however, sometimes focused negotiations can avoid such a development and the added costs it entails.

If a case does go to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Discrimination Tribunal, written submissions will have to be prepared and we may recommend you instruct a barrister specialising in education to advise on the case and represent you at the hearing. Assuming a one day hearing, a specialist barrister's fees can add up to around £3,000 plus VAT on top of our fees (you need to be aware however that rarely, a hearing may go into a second day). However, the advantages to having specialist Counsel representing you at a hearing are considerable.

However, we cannot give you a comprehensive break down of how much your case will cost, as there are many variable factors such as whether the case settles early or whether it needs to go to a fully contested Tribunal hearing. How far a case will develop is also largely dependent on the Local Authority, and its willingness to engage in the settlement process.

We find that the better prepared an appeal is in terms of the written submissions and supporting evidence, the better the prospects of success. There is also the very real possibility that upon having the written submissions and evidence disclosed to it, the Local Authority may reconsider its position and concede, thus avoiding the need for a SENDIST hearing. It goes without saying that the earlier the matter is resolved through settlement (if this is possible), the lower the costs will be. We are conscious of the financial burden litigation can impose on our clients, and over half of our SEND appeals do indeed settle before the Tribunal hearing date.

In order to enable us to progress your case as quickly and smoothly as possible you will be required to provide us with complete and accurate information, in good time to allow us to implement your instructions, this includes advising us of any holidays, deadlines or time limits which you are aware of which may affect your case.

We would also expect you to keep us informed of any changes to your personal circumstances, such as change of address, telephone number or email address.

Our fee structure

SEN Legal's fees are based on an hourly fee structure, rather than by a fixed fee structure. The costs will therefore depend on how much work is done. We believe that this is actually in our clients' interests because if settlement is reached, you will not be obliged to pay us a fixed fee that would cover work up to and including a Tribunal hearing. In short, if we achieve a settlement for you, not only will you have achieved the desired result, you will also have saved money. Fixed fees do not offer such a saving.

Our professional fees will be calculated in accordance with the amount of time spent dealing with your case which will include time spent perusing your papers, analysis and research undertaken in relation to your case, drafting documents, telephone advice and other communications including emails and faxes as well as any attendance at meetings, hearings and Tribunals.

Time will be billed in units of a minimum of 6 minutes at a variety of rates dependent on who is undertaking the work. We notify all clients of any changes to our fees structure prior to implementation of any change.

Expenses and Disbursements which are likely to be incurred during your case will normally include such things as travelling time for solicitors, or other legal representatives for attendance at your request at meetings and/or Annual Reviews. Disbursements will include the cost of postage, photocopying and couriers. In addition to these additional costs there may also be the additional cost of instructing specialist Counsel (Barrister) and expert witnesses.

Unlike many solicitors, we will not ask for a large payment in advance because we bill on a monthly basis. Generally, the highest monthly costs will be at the beginning of a case where all the initial work described above is undertaken. Thereafter, it is common for there to be peaks and troughs in terms of the level of billing on any individual case. All SEN Legal case work is either undertaken directly by Melinda Nettleton, or by another member of the firm under her supervision. The hourly costs will depend on the person undertaking the work, and the hourly rates take into account factors such as staff wages, National Insurance contributions, courier and typist fees, subscriptions to law journals, etc.

Our invoices are payable within 14 days of issue, unless agreed by us in writing. If you wish to arrange for your invoices to be paid by a third party, you will need to contact us and supply us with their details and any necessary documentation required. Our invoices will be sent in every instance to the named client with copies sent to the third party if instructed. If the third party fails to pay our invoice in accordance with our Terms and Conditions we will seek settlement of any outstanding invoices from you, as the named client. You will also be required to reimburse this Practice for any costs, expenses, disbursements and VAT incurred by this Practice incurred pursuing any overdue payments.

It is in the client's best interests to settle invoices in a timely manner. In addition to the above, should you fail to settle invoices within the stipulated time frame, we also reserve the right to:

• Cease undertaking any further work on your Case.
• Charge you interest on all amounts due at the Bank of England base rate plus 2%.
• Retain all documents and paperwork in our possession until we have received payment of all amounts due to us.

Work at SEN Legal is delegated by Melinda throughout our team; we have different members performing different roles. We practice cost saving delegation. So, although the amount charged per hour will vary depending on who is working on your case at a particular time, the practitioner who undertakes a particular task will be commensurate to the complexity of the task being performed. For example, you will not be charged our highest rates for administrative tasks such as date-fixing for a Tribunal hearing.

All charges are also subject to VAT, currently 20%.

As a rough estimate (we cannot give more than this, as each case is completely variable in terms of costs), a Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal appeal that is resolved after a single straightforward hearing in the first-tier Tribunal is likely to cost between £6,500 - £8,750 (plus VAT and disbursements). This does not include the professional fees of any expert witnesses or Counsel. Cases that are more complex, require urgent action, or require more experts to be involved generally are nearer to the high end of that costs estimate, as are cases that involve a special independent school being named on the Statement. Exceptional factors such as a hearing going into a second day or a case management hearing may lead to a revised estimate.

Many parents contact us with an existing Right of Appeal. Some do not. Additional work outside of the Appeal itself, such as engineering a Right of Appeal, so that a client can challenge the Statement of Special Educational Needs (which on occasion has required Pre-Action Protocol procedure for Judicial Review proceedings and the preparation of submissions to the Administrative Division of the High Court). Such matters do not form part of our quotation for a single, straightforward appeal. In most cases the factors mentioned herein are not necessary, but will occasionally form part of a client's instructions.

If you decide to instruct SEN Legal we will of course provide you with a comprehensive break-down of our fee structure so you are fully aware of the potential costs of your case.

Insurance cover is rarely available for this kind of work, but you should check whether you may be covered by legal expense insurance. Your household contents policy may include legal expenses cover. Some bank accounts carry insurance and credit cards also provide such cover.

Public funding (formally known as Legal Aid) varies according to type of case and is generally means tested. Eligibility is limited - for example there may parents who received Working Tax Credit, but are not financially eligible for Legal Aid.

Obviously the general public funding climate is not good presently and the government is considering bringing to an end Legal Aid for education work. It is true to say that even before the General Election, the LSC was looking to - yet again - revamp contracts, and this process was looking very bad for "welfare" categories of law. On the premise of "size matters", the Commission wanted contact with only those firms offering a spectrum of advice types, so that community care was lumped with housing, debt and welfare benefits. Firms not able to offer the whole range of advice were being encouraged to develop 'clusters' with others either in the private or the not-for-profit sectors. SEN Legal wishes to remain a truly specialist Practice. That is to say, Education Law only; except where our Special Educational Needs cases interface with other connected areas of law, such as Social Service provision, or Court of Protection. This is not possible with the current LSC arrangements. Mindful of the proverb "jack of all trades, master of none", it is not the intention of SEN Legal to dilute its specialist expertise in order to provide a broad range of "welfare categories of law".

If you think you may be eligible for Legal Aid, it is worth looking at the eligibility calculator on the Legal Services Commission website under the section "Can I Get Legal Aid?" This will take you to a computerised eligibility calculator which is free of charge. If you are eligible for Legal Aid we will refer you on to another, more generic, welfare Practice which will be able to assist you in this respect.