Funding

Charging for family law services

At the heart of any business is cash flow and the key elements for family lawyers are how much and how to charge for family law services. Neither the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) nor the Legal Ombudsman (LEO) have an expectation that low charging is better. Sound governance of a business means that a firm must be profitable otherwise, in the long run, unprofitability puts the business at risk.

When reviewing family work charges, the following key aspects should be considered:

1. •

   the terms of business, ie the contractual relationship with the client

2. •

   ways of paying for services, ie hourly rates, fixed fees etc, and

3. •

   receiving payment for services

See Practice Note: Funding—charging for family law services.

Unbundled services or Pay As You Go

An unbundled service means legal advice provided to a client in a case where the client is acting in person. It can comprise a simple checking service, one off advice, the advocacy in a case, or a more organised Pay As You Go (PAYG) service throughout the proceedings. With the client acting