End to hourly rates

The Jackson reforms have led to a significant increase in fixed fees in personal injury litigation. The judiciary has already made threatening noises that if the Jackson reforms do not work it may be necessary to scrap the current hourly rates system entirely.

But, who would have thought that the threat would come from within? QualitySolicitors have announced their network is to abandon hourly rates in favour of fixed fees for all their services next year, with the new model to be piloted at 15 member firms this month where they will stop charging for work by the hour for all services, including litigation.

The beginning of the end?


6 thoughts on “End to hourly rates

  1. If Slater & Gordon were doing this then we should be worried, but have you ever worked for the QS people ? Scrapping the barrel. Any firm that has a stall inside a WH Smith branch is hardly a market leader.

  2. it would also seem that it is an option being given to the client – they can choose hourly rate or fixed fee. So not quite the whole truth

    And the usual caveats will apply. Eg unexpected defence, application etc comes in then will all be outside of the fixed fee.

  3. It will still be on an hourly rate basis.

    So, no different to preparing a bill for a fixed private invoice – prepare at hourly rate and cap the costs (if applicable).

    The only problem with this method is for the solicitor who will need to sit down with the client at every stage to plan the costs.

    This will then mean that they need a costs draftsman in the meeting too to go through the likely figures.

    The result = the runaway gravy train keeps going = ££££££££££

  4. whilst I appreciate the sarcasm in MMM’s post the truth is that he is, to an extent, correct

    the whole budgetting element is a significant extra cost in PI matters and we are still going to require a Bill at the end

  5. Can’t see that catching on. Fixed fee work for insurers etc where you have guaranteed bulk work? Fine.

    Fixed fees for the man on the street? No chance of making money that way, unless everyone is going to have a shed full of paralegals running low-value cases for tuppence an hou- Oh, right.

  6. As a Defendant representative, it will make for interesting assessments in future when said QS firms try and get more then a fixed fee inter partes

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