There are about 220 county courts in England and Wales and we are able to pursue/defend claims in all of them.
Certain types of claims have to be commenced and conducted in the County Courts but for most claims the choice is between (1) County Court or High Court and (2) which County Court is that of the Claimant. However, in order to avoid possible delay and wasted costs by the transfer of the claim to another (more appropriate) Court, the following factors should be taken into account in making those choices:
- A defendant is entitled to have the claim conducted in the County Court in the district in which he resides;
- Subject to issues of complexity (and certain types of claims) claims for less than £50,000 will generally be appropriate for the County Courts;
- The complexity of the facts, legal issues, remedies or procedures involved may mean the claim needs to be tried by a High Court judge.
We have the experience and expertise to deal with all of the types of claims that are conducted in County Courts. We have the flexibility in our charging structure to allow us to carry out the vast majority of these claims in an extremely cost-effective manner. In the very few cases where we do not consider this is possible, you will be advised immediately and recommendations given as to alternative representation. We also (where appropriate) provide advocacy services on behalf of the client. Finally, while all County Courts are accessible, there may be occasions (for costs reasons) where it is not appropriate for us to attend and in that event we have a wide network of firms throughout the country upon whom we can call upon to act as our agent for such matters.
It is not possible to provide a general estimate of costs for these types of applications because of the extent to which they will vary according to the nature and size of the claim involved.
We offer the full range of funding options (other than government funding) to include fixed fees, conditional fee arrangements, after the event insurance and third party funding. We also always provide cost estimates as soon as reasonably practicable and remain within those estimates or, where (for good reason) not possible, agree a revised estimate before the previous one is exceeded. This, together with our regular billing policy and transparency on costs, means you retain a degree of control and certainly over your legal spend.
