Solicitor Average Charge/hour?

[lex]

Hey,

Im planning on getting a soliciter to draw up partnership agreements and cover other laws.

What does the average soliciter charge for an hour also how much would a normal partnership agreement cost to write up?

Thanks!

 

[bwglaw]

Depends where the solicitor is based, and whether it is a trainee, associate or partner. Hourly rates vary from £100 to £200 + VAT

If you would like a fixed-fee quotation for drafting a Partnership Agreement please email me the details below and I will give a quotation

Jonathan

 

[Antonia @limeone.com]

When I was in private practice and a senior partner ( solicitor of over 16 years in practice) I charged £225 plus VAT per hour and for a partnership agreement charged around 10-15 hours work depending on the nature of the business and time involved.

Now working as a consultant we work to a fixed price. Happy to quote you on this but have also PM'd you on some ball park figures.

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

£100 or £200 seems ridiculously expensive to me. Obviously that's the industry standard but I don't know why it is so expensive other then the fact that they spent so much time studying Law.

 

[Alpha]

£100 or £200 seems ridiculously expensive to me. Obviously that's the industry standard but I don't know why it is so expensive other then the fact that they spent so much time studying Law.

Is it really so expensive when you consider the consequences of not using their expertise??

 

[lex]

I wouldnt pay more than £100 for a partnership agreement, and im not too happy about paying that much.

 

[bwglaw]

I wouldnt pay more than £100 for a partnership agreement, and im not too happy about paying that much.

Your rights under the partnership cannot be worth that much to you. Us lawyers have to be constantly up to date with the law. The resources available to the lawyer is also very expensive.

Pay less than £100 now and pay £3000+ later trying to defend your rights under the agreement.

Sorry, I cannot do an agreement for £100 of my time. If you are prepared to pay over £100 then feel free to contact me for a quotation

Jonathan

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

Now I can see why it's so hard to start up a Business with no money

I dread to think how much a Non disclosure agreement would cost...

 

[Antonia @limeone.com]

Template documents are available from £45 plus VAT onwards however you can not guarantee they will suit your particular set of circumstances and we recommend they are used by experienced business people who take some degree of legal advice before purchase.

Boot strapping legal work is , as Jonathan says, long term expense. We recently helped a client come out of a partnership where no agreement existed and he had been to his first court appearance with another firm. I would imagine Jonathan too could reel off tales of horror.

The judge advised him to settle by way of mediation and we were appointed. His business turned over under £150K and legal bills (personal ones) were already running at £6k per partner.

Legal fees with the advisors on here are lower than the norm and many are fixed price which is also unusual with lawyers. If your legal budget is really £100 then you probably need to look again at your business legal needs and the viability of your business without legal advice. Business links and some other enterprise agencies will assist you in determining risk and some have free resources to assist you with legal issues. Whilst they won't extend to free legal documents you will at least be able to view the risk to your business in going forward without one in place.

 

[Kent Accountant]

I don't have an axe to grind on this, but I would tend to agree with the opinions from the lawyers in this thread. I always say to new clients that I hope that their partnership agreements will be a waste of money. In a successful amicable partnership, you will have drawn up the agreement at inception and put it away in a drawer and hopefully it will never see the light of day again as everything will be done by agreement.

It's when partners fall out and they either don't have an agreement in the drawer or it is inadequate that problems really start. I have a client who at the moment is exactly in that position. He joined a partnership in 1970 and although there is a partnership agreement, the provisions relating to dissolution are incomplete. Both sides have taken counsel's opinion and the legal and accountancy fees are already in five figures. The next step appears to be consideration of an application to the court for dissolution in accordance with the Partnership Act 1890. Allegedly, jointly, they are making provision for legal expenses up to £100K and the business is only worth about that amount but they are stuck on a point of principle.

If the cost of a partnership agreement is prohibitive, you may well need to reconsider your buisness plan or accept that problems may arise in the future