Client Charter

What You Can Expect Of Us

You will always be dealt with and looked after by a fully qualified, specialist family law solicitor or barrister. We aim to provide a rigorously professional yet reassuringly approachable and friendly service.

We abide by the principles of Resolution (formerly known as the Solicitors Family Law Association), an organisation that is committed to the constructive and amicable resolution of family disputes.

We promote equality and diversity in all of our dealings with clients and third parties.

Asher Broomfield is regulated by The Solicitors Regulation Authority SRA Number 495555.

Standards

You can expect to have your own solicitor who will personally deal with every aspect of your matter. If your case is particularly complex or you require a specialist advocate in Court, we will instruct a barrister whose skills match your specific needs.

We will try to achieve a satisfactory outcome for you as swiftly and cost effectively as possible. If appropriate we will refer you to other organisations that may assist with the progress of your case (for example, Relate or the National Family Mediation Service), even if this leads to a reduction in the work we can do for you.

On a day-to-day basis, in addition to being available during normal office hours, we will take phone calls or arrange meetings during the evenings or at weekends. We are happy to meet clients at the location that is most convenient to them.

We will try to return telephone calls and emails as soon as possible on the day that they are received.

Charges

Our charges, like those of all solicitors, are based on a number of different factors, which include:

  • the time spent on your matter
  • the skills and specialised knowledge required in handling the matter
  • the complexities and difficulty or novelty of the questions involved
  • the circumstances in which the business involved is transacted (for instance, situations requiring urgent action or the consideration of an unusually large amount of documentation).
The most important of these factors is the amount of time spent in dealing with your case.

Our current hourly rate for family law work is £125 plus VAT.

PRICE MATCH PROMISE

If you find a lower hourly rate for the same service provided by another solicitor we will reduce our hourly rate to £5 per hour less than the lower rate
As well as the charges made by this firm, incidental expenses such as the fees of any barristers or experts and court fees may be incurred.

In cases that involve negotiations and/or court proceedings it is difficult to forecast the amount of time that will be spent and therefore the costs of any individual matter. Much will depend upon the attitude of the other person and their solicitors, the volume and complexity of the documents disclosed and the time required for preparation and in court.

We will always try to give our best estimate of the costs involved in your case.

Bills

Unlike most other solicitors’ practices, we do not ask for ‘payments on account’ (in anticipation of work to be done), but only charge for work already undertaken.  It is our standard practice to deliver regular interim bills throughout your matter.

Public Funding

We do not have a contract with the Legal Services Commission to provide publicly funded legal services.  You may however be entitled to some financial assistance with your case and you are recommended to contact a firm of solicitors that undertakes publicly funded work in order to find out whether or not you are eligible.

Financial Services

We are not authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. However, because we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, in certain circumstances we are able to offer a limited range of investment services to our clients.

Money Laundering and the Proceeds of Crime

In order to comply with the law on money laundering we must have strict identification and reporting procedures in place. Although solicitors are under a professional and legal obligation to keep the affairs of their clients confidential, this duty is subject to a statutory exception: recent legislation on money laundering and terrorist financing directs that in certain circumstances solicitors are to disclose information to the Serious and Organised Crime Agency. These obligations notwithstanding, please be assured that we will deal with all information you provide in accordance with our responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Resolving Problems

We are confident of providing you with a good quality service; however, if you find that the standards set out in our Client Charter are not maintained please do not hesitate to contact us so that we can talk about your concerns. If we cannot find a solution together we will provide you with our written complaints procedure.