Do you think £180 per hour is normal charge for solictors?

[RTKangaMummy]

If not what do you pay?

Thanks for all the help guys

We decided to pay the £180 p/h + VAT

"the worse you are the cheaper you are" No xenia, wrong again. I work in legal aid because I chose to. Legal aid lawyers are charged out at a lesser rate than lawyers who can charge private client rates. They therefore earn less for their firms and are paid less accordingly. It's a question of simple economics. I am just as qualified as any other lawyer. I am not "worse" because I advise poorer people.

In a free market I meant - so leaving legal aid aside the better accountants tend to charge more than the worse ones. The ace plumber who is in massive demand can charge more per hour than the one no one will use because he gets the plumbing wrong.

People go into state provided or funded services for altruistic reasons so you're right in those limited areas but most goods and services in the UK are privately paid for and provided so I think in general my comment is right. Buy cheap shoes and they may fall apart. Pay more and you might get a better pair.

ok Xenia I am duly appeased

Good. We need good people like my brother in the NHS etc Sadly sometimes, and this won't appease you, people are not altruistic. I bet if you took the best of the Oxbridge first in accountancy, law etc they aren't going into low paid legal aid type work or its equivalent however with a few exceptions.

I'm not at all sure you're right Xenia - I know plenty of Oxbridge educated lawyers, dp included, who are either doing legal aid work or earning thousands less than they would doing similar jobs in the city.

I also understand that the city law firms are no longer recruiting principally for Oxbridge; far from it.

Not sure. I just think the cleverest best people tend to end up in the better paid jobs. Some are altruistic and go off to be vicars or legal aid lawyers but in general terms your Middlesex Univesrity 2/2 is more likely to be in a lower paid professional job than your Bristol 2/1.

"vicars or legal aid lawyers"

And there was me hoping for some sensible debate.

Lol, Zookeeper, say one for me, will you? Take no notice of Xenia, she just likes to stir things up. In fact, I thought she was a lawyer as well?????

thanks Mumblechum - at least we know she isn't one now!

Anyway, must go, sackcloths need washing and lots of ash to be swept up before I can rest my braincell.

sorry xenia I'm a 2:1 from a redbrick university. I chose legal aid work because I'm a criminal lawyer. That's what law is to me and is where my interests lie. It was nothing to do with being altruistic, crime is legal aid! Dh is a criminal barrister. He's got a first from UCL. He wouldn't do commercial law if you paid him £2 million a year. Law to him was the glory of trials which he's great at. Law was never commercial to me, that is deathly boring from where I sit. You can't do criminal law and not do legal aid work, well you could do white collar crime but huge yawn! If you want your murders/rapes/drugs/ then its legal aid all the way. I love it and I'm not there because I'm less qualified. I was offered articles at the then Clifford Chance and I turned them down

"the cleverest best people end up in the best paid jobs"

only an IT lawyer could come out with that quote xenia!

notasheep - £10k for a will!!!!! She must have some mighty estate and tax planning issues

bosscat, is xenia an IT lawyer?

another bill
£14.70 per letter
£14.70 per call

Oh, ffs, read the posts about the fee structure and stop whingeing.

thank you for your wise words mumblechum.. worth every penny! Actually making the point that many of the worlds problems are not helped by profesionals over charging for services..

And yes I am having a moan, thats some of what this site is for.. (or do you want to restrict access to MN for those who earn more than £150/hour)

The real value of a doctor or an engineer is so much greater than that of a solicitor.. Agree?

I would think that depends on the nature of your problem.