The 2008 Guideline Rates and Fees

The Advisory Committee on Civil Costs is currently conducting thorough research into the guideline hourly rates for solicitors, with a view to issuing a new set of rates by mid 2008.

As the current rates expired on 31 December 2007, Sir Anthony Clarke, the master of the rolls, asked the committee to advise him as to how the rates should be set for the interim period.

Professor Stephen Nickell, chair of the advisory committee, wrote to the MR stating that in the committee’s view the rates should be increased by 4% to keep them in line with the average earnings in private sector services. A copy of Professor Nickell’s letter is reproduced here (see below).

There are four grades of fee earner:

A. Solicitors with over eight years’ post qualification experience including at least eight years’ litigation experience.

B. Solicitors and legal executives with over four years’ post qualification experience including at least four years’ litigation experience.

C. Other solicitors and legal executives and fee earners of equivalent experience.

D. Trainee solicitors, paralegals and fee earners of equivalent experience. Note: legal executive means a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives.

** An hourly rate in excess of the guideline figures may be appropriate for Grade A fee earners in substantial and complex litigation where other factors, including the value of the litigation, the level of complexity, the urgency or importance of the matter as well as any international element would justify a significantly higher rate to reflect higher average costs.

Band 1

GUIDELINE RATES (£)

A** - 203; B – 180; C – 151; D - 110

Aldershot, Farnham, Bournemouth (including Poole); Birmingham Inner; Bristol; Cambridge City, Harlow; Canterbury, Maidstone, Medway & Tunbridge Wells; Cardiff (Inner); Chelmsford South, Essex & East Suffolk; Chester; Fareham, Winchester; Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Isle of Wight; Kingston, Guildford, Reigate, Epsom; Leeds Inner (within two kilometres radius of the City Art Gallery); Lewes; Liverpool, Birkenhead; Manchester Central; Newcastle—City Centre (within a 2 mile radius of St Nicholas Cathedral); Norwich City; Nottingham City; Oxford, Thames Valley; Southampton, Portsmouth; Swindon, Basingstoke; Watford

Band 2

GUIDELINE RATES (£)

A** - 191; B – 168; C – 139; D - 105

Bath, Cheltenham and Gloucester, Taunton, Yeovil; Bury; Chelmsford North, Cambridge County, Peterborough, Bury St E, Norfolk, Lowestoft; Cheshire & North Wales; Coventry, Rugby, Nuneaton, Stratford and Warwick; Exeter, Plymouth; Hull (City); Leeds Outer, Wakefield & Pontefract; Leigh; Lincoln; Luton, Bedford, St Albans, Hitchin, Hertford; Manchester Outer, Oldham, Bolton, Tameside; Newcastle (other than City Centre); Nottingham & Derbyshire; Sheffield, Doncaster and South Yorkshire; Southport; St Helens; Stockport, Altrincham, Salford; Swansea, Newport, Cardiff (Outer); Wigan; Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley & Stourbridge; York, Harrogate

Band 3

GUIDELINE RATES (£)

A** - 174; B – 156; C – 133; D - 99

Birmingham Outer; Bradford (Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Keighley & Skipton); Cumbria; Devon, Corn-wall; Grimsby, Skegness; Hull Outer; Kidderminster; Northampton & Leicester; Preston, Lancaster, Black-pool, Chorley, Accrington, Burnley, Blackburn, Rawenstall & Nelson; Scarborough & Ripon; Stafford, Stoke, Tamworth; Teesside; Worcester, Hereford, Evesham and Redditch; Shrewsbury, Telford, Ludlow, Oswestry; South & West Wales

LONDON RATES (£)

City of London (EC1, EC2, EC3, EC4) - A - 396; B – 285; C – 219; D – 134

Central London (W1, WC1, WC2. SW1) – A – 304; B – 231; C – 189; D – 121

Outer London (All other London post codes: W, NW, N, E, SE, SW, Bromley, Croydon, Dartford, Gravesend and Uxbridge) A – 219–256; B – 165–219; C – 158; D – 116

Uprating the Guideline Hourly Rates

13 December, 2007

Dear Sir Anthony

The Advisory Committee on Civil Costs recommends that, as from 1 January, 2008, the guideline hourly rates should be increased by 4 per cent across the board. The Committee was almost unanimous on this. One member, the representative of the insurance industry, was opposed to any uprating. He did not consider it appropriate to make an increase at this point given the fundamental review underway.

This recommendation is based on the notion that the guideline rates should keep up with average earnings in private sector services, thereby ensuring that normal relativities are maintained. The ONS Average Earnings Index (AEI) for Private Sector Service industries, excluding bonuses, seasonally adjusted, rose by 4.016% between 2006, Q3 and 2007, Q3. We felt that it was sensible to round down to 4% since the impact is minute.

As to where we are on the new guideline rates, we are currently organising a survey and the recommended uprating seemed to most of us to be the most sensible interim measure until we are able to examine the statistical evidence and seek the views of stakeholders, and to use this evidence and these views as a basis for a completely new set of rates. It should not, at this stage, be assumed that the AEI will be used to inform the calculation of rates in the future.

All Best Wishes,

Stephen Nickell

Nuffield College, Oxford OX1 1NF