Civil Litigation
Our specialist civil litigation team has extensive experience in dealing with civil litigation matters.
We can assist you on issuing/defending proceedings at the high court or county court depending on the nature and value of the claim being dealt with.
Should you ever find yourself embroiled in a dispute then our team can offer you the specialist advice you require.
We specialise in the following areas:
- Disputes involving Commercial Contracts and Agreements
- Corporate Disputes
- Debt Recovery
- Parking charge notices (on behalf of parking companies)
- Insolvency – contentious and non-contentious
At ELMS Legal Ltd, our fees for litigation are charged at an hourly rate depending on the Grade of the individual dealing with your case. Please see the below table, being the most recent guideline rates as of 10 September 2025. Where VAT of 20% is applicable this is stated.
| Grade | Fee earner | National 2 (per hour – p/h) |
|---|---|---|
| A | Solicitors and legal executives with over 8 years’ experience | £282+VAT = £336.40 p/h |
| B | Solicitors and legal executives with over 4 years’ experience | £242+VAT = £290.40 p/h |
| C | Other solicitors or legal executives and fee earners of equivalent experience | £196+VAT = £235.20 p/h |
| D | Trainee solicitors, paralegals and other fee earners | £139+VAT = £166.80 p/h |
ELMS Legal Ltd will also advise you, throughout the entire process, of any necessary disbursements to be paid such as, but not limited to, court fees, hearing fees etc. Please see below an outline off these fees that can also be found at the below link to the Civil Court Fees (EX50) provided by HM Courts and Tribunals Service Civil court fees (EX50) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).Please be advised that disbursements do not carry VAT.
Court Fees
| Value of your claim | Fee |
|---|---|
| Up to £300 | £35 |
| More than £300 but no more than £500 | £50 |
| More than £500 but no more than £1,000 | £70 |
| More than £1,000 nut no more than £1,500 | £80 |
| More than £1,500 but no more than £3,000 | £115 |
| More than £3,000 but no more than £5,000 | £205 |
| More than £5,000 but no more than £10,000 | £455 |
| More than £10,000 but no more than £200,000 | 5% of the value of the claim |
| More than £200,000 | £10,000 |
Hearing Fees
| Type and Value of Claim | Fee |
|---|---|
| Small claims track for claims up to £300 | £27 |
| Small claims track for claims between £300.01 and £500 | £59 |
| Small claims track for claims between £500.01 and £1,000 | £85 |
| Small claims track for claims between £1,000.01 and £1,500 | £123 |
| Small claims track for claims between £1,500.01 and £3,000 | £181 |
| Small claims track for claims for more than £3,000 | £346 |
| Fast track claims | £619 |
| Intermediate track or multi-track claims | £1,334 |
How We Can Help
If you are owed a sum of money, ELMS Legal Ltd can act on your behalf to recover outstanding monies.
As soon as we are instructed on your matter, we will be there to explain the process each step of the way. We understand that legal proceedings can be complicated and we are here to assist from start to finish.
Stage 1 – Sending Letter Before Action
We will send a letter before action to the debtor explaining how the debt has arisen and requesting the sums due. Depending on the complexity of the matter this would be 1 hour (£282.00 + VAT = £338.40) – 2 hours (£564.00 + VAT = £676.80) of a Grade A Fee Earner.
Stage 2 – Debtor’s Response
An individual debtor has 30 days from the date of the letter to respond to the Letter Before Action and a debtor company has 14 days from the date of the letter to respond. Depending on the debtor’s response, reviewing and responding would be approximate 1 hour (£282.00 + VAT = £338.40) – 2 hours (£564.00 + VAT = £676.80) of a Grade A Fee Earner.
Stage 3 – Issuing Court Proceedings
Once correspondence has ceased or if a debtor does not respond at all, a claim can be issued against the debtor on your behalf. Depending on the complexity of the matter this would be 2 hours (£564.00 + VAT = £676.80) – 4 hours (£1,128.00 + VAT = £1,353.60) of a Grade A Fee Earner.
Stage 4 – Responding to Court Proceedings
A debtor has 14 days from the date the claim was served to respond to the claim or pay the debt in full.
Stage 5a – Judgment is Obtained
If the debtor fails to respond to the claim or pay the debt, then a County Court Judgment can be obtained against the debtor and the matter will move to our Debt Recovery process, which can be seen here.
Stage 5b – Defence is Received
If the debtor submits a defence the matter will proceed to a hearing. Depending on the type of the matter, subject of the matter and the value of the claim, the court can provide various directions. Before completing any work, a quote will be provided based on the work required. On average this would be 2 hours (£564.00 + VAT = £676.80) – 4 hours (£1,128.00 + VAT = £1,353.60) of a Grade A Fee Earner.
For example, for a more complex matter whereby the defendant does respond to the letter before action and the defendant submits a defence whereby the total amount claimed is £3,500.00. The costs would be as follows:
Cost for legal work – 2 hours for letter before action (£564.00 + VAT = £676.80), responding to debtor’s response for 2 hours (564.00 + VAT = £676.80), issuing court proceedings for 4 hours (£1,128.00 + VAT = £1,353.60), responding to defence and proceeding to court hearing for 4 hours (£1,128.00 + VAT = £1,353.60).
Disbursements – court fee of £205.00 no VAT and hearing fee of £346.00 no VAT.
Total cost = £4,611.80 inclusive of VAT.
Should you need any further assistance in this regard or feel as though you may have a dispute that requires a legal opinion to be resolved then please contact us on 01529 406097 or email us at info@elmslegal.co.uk.