Legal fees

Legal Fees

For lawyers, much like other professional advisors, fees are a market issue.

As with other businesses, lawyers and law firms have to pay for their premises, for staff salaries, for professional insurance and for other business costs.

In Jersey, there is no fee schedule for legal services, and the Law Society of Jersey has no authority to control what lawyers charge. 

Clients should consider comparing the legal fees from a number of different Jersey law firms. As with any other service, the lowest cost may not necessarily be the best value.

Fees between Jersey law firms vary due to differences in:

• Expertise: Specialists in a particular area often charge more than a non-specialist;
• Complexity: Special fees or up-front fees (usually known as “monies on account”), sometimes apply where the work is exceptionally complex and urgent;
• Seniority: Work carried out by a partner of a firm will cost more than work done by a more junior lawyer or other fee earner;
• Urgency:  Special fees sometimes apply for urgent work and may need to be  paid on account to the firm in question before work commences.

Fee Arrangements

Conditional fee arrangements - where a lawyer acts on a "no win, no fee" basis but is entitled to a success fee or uplift on their normal fees - are not permitted in Jersey.  

Firms may act on a “No win, no fee” basis, subject to the application of their normal or standard fee rates if they are successful.