THE WAY LEGAL COSTS WORK FOR CRIMINAL LAWYERS IN PERTH

We get it, a lawyer can be expensive. However, investing in a quality lawyer is the greatest investment that you can make in attempting to achieve a good outcome.

The provision of legal services is no different to the provision of any other professional service or trade. If you engage a plumber or a sparky, and you go for the cheapest quote, you may end up paying more in the long run. The same can be said for engaging a lawyer. A lawyer that does not practice solely in criminal law practice or is inexperienced is likely to cost you significantly more over the course of your matter.

For example, a lawyer that is not dedicated to criminal law or who is inexperienced will charge for researching legal concepts or provisions that are not known to them but are to lawyers that specialise in this area or have more experience. They may also create additional work which could have been avoided (e.g., seeking a shorter adjournment than what was necessary, requiring another Court appearance and associated costs).

The overall cost may also not be only financial, you may find yourself in a more difficult position at sentencing or at trial if you have not secured a specialist criminal lawyer.

OUR APPROACH AT BWP LEGAL

Our aim is simple, to provide quality legal advice and representation at a fair price.

We are transparent and will explain our costs and fee structure. If you have any questions during the course of your matter regarding costs, please let us know.

BWP Legal offers all potential new clients a no obligation 30-minute case assessment appointment at a fixed fee of $247.50 (incl. GST and payable at the time of booking), where we will review your matter and provide you with some preliminary advice regarding the best way to proceed.

You will need to provide a copy of your Prosecution Notice(s), Statement of Material Facts, and Bail Undertaking (if applicable) prior to your appointment as without these materials BWP Legal will not be in a position to be able to provide any real substantive advice.

You can then make an informed decision on whether you wish to engage our services. If you choose to retain us, we will provide you with a Costs Agreement and some other material for you to consider and sign, and you will need to verify your identity with us, by providing a drivers licence or passport.

If you formally instruct BWP Legal, you agree to comply with our Billing Policy. BWP Legal, consistent with most law practices, operates predominately on a time-based billing model and utilises a trust account. This means that you will be charged an hourly rate for the time expended on working on your matter similar to any other professional trade (e.g., a concreter, sparky, plumber).

BWP Legal requires money to be placed in the firm's trust account prior to engaging in any legal work on your behalf. This money remains yours whilst in the firm's trust account but can be drawn on by BWP Legal to pay its invoices as required, in accordance with the Legal Profession Uniform Law. You will be invoiced on a fortnightly basis, and routinely provided with a trust account statement so you are aware of the status of your funds.

We operate on a time-based billing model because it is often extremely difficult to definitively outline the amount of time that will be expended on a criminal law matter in advance. This is because most factors that impact on the amount of time that is required to be spent on a criminal law matter are outside the control of the lawyer who is acting (e.g., the prosecutor's actions may lead to additional Court appearances (e.g., through lack of disclosure), the Court may require additional submissions on a novel point, an expert briefed by the lawyer may get delayed in providing expert material (e.g., a psychiatric report) etc.).

However, when you instruct BWP Legal, we will provide you with an initial cost estimate on what your matter is likely to cost. We will update that estimate as and when required when new information comes to light. You can be assured that we will inform you promptly of any change in costs and seek your instructions on whether or not you wish to continue.

Our pricing model which determines our charge-out rates is centred on a consideration of two important factors:

the complexity of the matter; and
the experience that we bring to it.

We believe in transparency, which is why we publish our charge-out rates. Our current charge-out rates are:

Commonwealth, CCC or NCAC matters - $500 per hour + GST

State matters - $460 per hour + GST

Traffic matters - $350 per hour + GST

You will find our rates are generally consistent with most specialised criminal law firms in Perth.

BWP Legal may also offer a fixed fee option for certain legal services, where it is more easily able to quantify the work that is required to be performed. You can find more information about what services we may agree to offer on a fixed fee basis.

You are likely to also need to pay disbursements in respect of your legal matter. These are costs that are incurred by BWP Legal on your behalf from third parties which are usually unavoidable (e.g., a fee for a doctor's or psychologist's report to support your sentencing hearing, a Court filing fee etc.). Where possible, we will inform you in advance of incurring any material disbursements.

There are also some statutory schemes that may provide some financial assistance in respect of your legal costs. For example, if you are summoned to appear before the National Anti-Corruption Commission, you can apply for assistance from the Attorney-General's Department. The support provided by statutory schemes are not intended to completely cover all your legal expenses. However, BWP Legal will consider, in some circumstances, to complete work at the rate provided.