Funding

The funding of your case is obviously crucially important. We do NOT offer a Legal Aid service for criminal cases. We do not hold ourselves out to be a 'Legal Aid' practice as we do not believe that it is always possible to work at the highest level within the constraints of public funding.

We will discuss the funding options at the start of any new matter and we are always totally up front and transparent in this regard.

We are able to refer you to an Independent Financial Advisor (who is regulated by the FSA) should you require further information about funding your case.

As the potential Client can appreciate, it would be almost impossible for us to give a firm quotation due to the nature of the work to be carried out. We base our fees on experience and on numerous avenues that may be available to us whilst an investigation is taking place.

Charges are calculated mainly by reference to the time spent in dealing with the investigation. This includes advising and attending the Client/Defendant/Appellant and others, dealing with papers, correspondence, telephone calls, statement taking, travelling, waiting time and any time spent attending Solicitors, Counsel and others as necessary. The fees quoted are “Global”. The charge rate also does not include other expenses and disbursements such as court fees.

The above is not an exhaustive list and there are numerous other matters which, from time to time, need to be attended to.

The charge rates quoted are reviewed periodically to reflect increases in staff costs, office expenses, inflation and other matters. Therefore, if this matter has not been concluded before the next review takes place, charge rates can rise.

You'll also have to pay value added tax (or 'VAT') on top of our fees. The amount of VAT you have to pay is set by the government and is a form of tax.

No formal relationship of falselyaccused.co.uk and the Client is created until instructions have been accepted by an acknowledgement from falselyaccused.co.uk. For the avoidance of doubt, neither the submission nor confirmation of submission of a form constitutes such an acknowledgement.

Our "Terms of Business" (available upon written request) applies to all the investigations carried and apply to all services provided and shall prevail over any Terms sought to be imposed by the Client. A Contract may be drawn up between falselyaccused.co.uk and the client.

Estimating Our Fees

Investigative fees are normally insignificant compared to the overall cost of a total defence for someone falsely accused. At the very least, a defence team will possibly include a Queens Counsel (QC), Barrister, Solicitor, Detectives, support staff and various experts.

Someone falsely accused may be told that they do not require an elaborate defence, but common sense dictates the opposite. Serious arrestable offences such as rape, murder and drug allegations are cases where the Defendant, without question, must prove their innocence beyond any reasonable doubt. Unless they are successful, a Prosecutor will prosecute, a jury will convict and a lengthy prison term is inevitable.

There is far more involvement to a defence than simply trial preparation and the trial itself. Considering the cost of the trial alone, a normal trial day does not consist of 8 hours. While the actual Court time may be 8 hours, the day does not end there.

Each day, it is vital to discuss good and bad points of all evidence given that day and then plan for the following day. There will be motions to consider, witnesses to prepare and strategy to be discussed. A normal day at trial can easily amount to 15 or more hours.

When considering the cost of a defence, reality is a factor that few actually consider. A QC and Barrister can charge as much as £450.00 (or much more) per hour. Experts, including analysis and evidence, can easily run from £10,000.00 to £100,000.00. Total hours involved will include pre-trial as well as trial, so a 5-day trial could easily cost £100,000.00 or more and a 10 or more day trial, between £150,000.00 and £250,000.00.

Very few people have the necessary funds to properly defend against these types of allegations, so, for all practical purposes, there is not such a thorough investigation, or expert examinations and the Barrister(s) and/or Solicitor(s) chosen are normally legally aided. Basic legal aid lawyers are under enormous pressure and consequently can rarely afford the time to prioritise and effectively re-investigate these complex cases. That combination may attempt to respond to the Prosecution's case, but where is the defence? There is not much of one - that is why there are so many innocent people in prison today.

In considering the services of falselyaccused.co.uk please understand the following. falselyaccused.co.uk will firstly very carefully analyse the whole case, prepare a defence and then put it all together for the Solicitor.

falselyaccused.co.uk will also prepare anyone who will give evidence for the defence. Giving evidence at Court is a very frightening experience. We help witnesses prepare themselves for the environment they will be experiencing. We will explain the procedure to them as many times at it takes for the witness to feel comfortable with the situation. We also prepare questions or issues that the Barrister or Solicitor uses as a road map during the trial.

Where possible we take daily trial notes, analyse trial evidence and carefully study the jury during trial in an attempt to evaluate what they are, or are not accepting. There is no single individual who will have spent more time with all parties or have a better overall knowledge of the defence than us. We actually become the eyes and ears of the defence Barrister and/or Solicitor.

As agents dealing with these cases, our goal is very simple. We prepare a complete defence for the client as fast and as thoroughly as possible. Hopefully, that defence will be adequate to prevent a Prosecutor from going forward with their case. In the event they do, our preparation then becomes the cornerstone of the defence the Barrister will present and use during trial.

As a general rule of thumb, where there has been an allegation, but no indictment (conviction), it takes on average about forty (40) to sixty (60) days to prepare a synopsis.

In more serious matters, some cases have actually taken up to and over eighteen months, not including the trial and some can even last well over three years. The total time we spend is a direct reflection of exactly what is required to resolve the matter. We do not "waste" time, but we will not take any shortcuts. Shortcuts are deadly serious and mistakes can easily result in lengthy prison terms. Our focus is on giving you an exceptional service.