Road Traffic Offence Fees banner

Services For You

Road Traffic Offence Fees

Your solicitor will be Michael Gupwell or Maxine Twynam, who are both very experienced court advocates.  Michael is a Higher Court Advocate.

For full details of their experience and qualifications, click on the links below to go to their Profile Pages.

Michael Gupwell

Maxine Twynam

 

 

Michael’s hourly rate is £280 + VAT (£336)

Maxine’s hourly rate is £250 + VAT (£300)

We do not do any work under the legal aid scheme.

Road Traffic guilty plea cases dealt with at a single court hearing take, on average, about 3 hours of a solicitor’s time. 3 hours of Michael’s time would cost £840 + VAT (£1008). 3 hours of Maxine’s time would cost £750 + VAT (£900).  As this is an average only, sometimes the case will take less than 3 hours and sometimes the case will take a little longer. We therefore feel that a fixed fee is not appropriate. However, we will always give you a more accurate estimate at the beginning of your matter based on the particular circumstances of your case.

The 3 hour estimate for our costs includes:

  • 2 hours attendance/preparation, including:
  • Considering the evidence
  • Taking your instructions
  • Providing advice on your likely sentence
  • 1 hour attendance and representation at a single hearing at a local Magistrates Court

The fee does not include:

  • The instruction of any expert witnesses or their fees
  • Taking statements from any witnesses
  • Advice and assistance in relation to a special reasons or exceptional hardship hearing to try to avoid you losing your driving licence
  • Advice or assistance in relation to any appeal against the level of the sentence
  • Travelling time to a court outside Bristol
  • Attendance at any later adjourned hearing date, for example when sentence is deferred for reports to be prepared.

We do not charge to travel to the following Magistrates’ Courts:

  • Bath
  • Bristol
  • Cardiff
  • Cheltenham
  • Gloucester
  • Newport
  • North Somerset

Costs to travel to other Magistrates’ Courts will be discussed on an individual basis with your solicitor.

The key stages of your matter are based on the presumption that you have entered or will enter a guilty plea and have a date for your hearing and include:

  • Meeting with your solicitor to provide instructions on what happened
  • Obtaining and considering initial evidence and any other evidence and providing advice
  • Explaining the court procedure to you so that you know what to expect on the day of your hearing and the sentencing options available to the court
  • Conducting any further preparatory work, obtaining further instructions from you, if necessary, and answering any follow up queries you have
  • Attending court on the day of the hearing and meeting with you to discuss any final points before going into court. While much of the time at court can include waiting, we usually anticipate being at court for up to half a day
  • Discussing the outcome with you. If advice is required in relation to an appeal against the level of the sentence, this will carry an additional cost.

"Michael Gupwell was exceptionally knowledgeable and professional throughout the case. I can only thank you all for the effort you put into the case and undoubtedly would not hesitate to recommend Michael and your practice to others."

"I contacted Wards solicitors after I was informed I was being charged with a criminal offence that I did not commit. I was put in touch with Maxine, a Criminal Defence specialist. Maxine was professional and kind, she advised me and supported me through every step of the process from our initial meeting, to the eventual trail. Nothing was too much trouble for Maxine and the team at Wards, they were always on hand to answer questions. I will be forever grateful to everyone involved for their professional yet compassionate approach to my case and for securing the result that has given me my life back, thank you all."

Important notice: please read

Cyber-crime is on the increase and solicitor transactions can be hijacked by scammers. This commonly takes the form of email or phone interception.  At the start of our working relationship we will provide you with terms of business that include our account details – these will never change.

Please be aware that we will never ask you to send money to a different bank account, particularly by email. If you receive a request for money from us please check that everything matches the details in our terms of business.

If you receive an email giving any other bank account please telephone us immediately without replying to the email or sending any money. We accept no responsibility if you transfer money to a bank account which is not ours.

Wards Solicitors