What the rates are for

Guideline hourly rates exist so a judge assessing costs between parties has a starting point. They are not a tariff, they are not a cap on what a firm may charge its own client, and they are not a promise of what will be recovered.

Grade and region

The rates are banded by fee earner grade and by geography. The same work done by a solicitor of eight years and by a trainee attracts different rates, and the same grade attracts different rates in different parts of the country.

Why a client still sees one number

Most private client work is quoted as a fixed fee or an estimate with a scope, because an hourly rate is a unit price rather than a total. The rate matters when the estimate is exceeded, and that is the moment to have read the engagement letter.

The people page on this site lists a rate against each grade so the arithmetic is visible rather than implied.