If you don’t ask, you don’t get to be ridiculed in public!

We all know that you get what you pay for.

However, we also know that simply because something is expensive, it doesn’t mean it’s good value or worth the extra.

I may love to drive a Ferrari (actually, I wouldn’t, but that’s another story) but I can get from A to B just as effectively in a BMW, at a better price, and with less aggravation and no worry about where I’m going to park!

An economy plane ticket to Tokyo (my favourite place in the world) is going to get me there at the same time as a business class ticket.  The business class ticket is a LOT more fun, but also a LOT more money.  Which means that I could go two or three times more for the same budget if I’m willing to give up the bed, and the better food, and the massive tv, and the waitress service, and the business class lounge, and the toiletries, and the PJs and the……

If you’re choosing a legal adviser, you can go for someone off the internet, who may or may not be based in the UK, may or may not be insured and may possibly be regulated and know what they are doing, but possibly not.  Or you can go for a properly insured, regulated and qualified solicitor.   It will cost you more, but it depends on what your budget is and how important the project is.

What you can’t choose, is who the other side will instruct, and if you lose, you’ll have to pay their costs.

HOWEVER, that does not mean that they can pick the most expensive solicitor going and expect you to pay the whole bill.

Recently, a well-known firm have been publicly ridiculed for not only putting in a monstrous bill, payable by the other side (including claiming that one solicitor was entitled to charge over £1,000 per hour!) but they were also criticised for not producing any or any sufficient supporting evidence to justify the costs.

Which goes to show that paying top dollar for something, doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a good investment.  It also means that even though the winning party got an order that the other side pay their fees, they would still have had to pay a significant chunk of the fees themselves, as the court refused to let them recover it from the losing side.

Which also demonstrates that even big firms get it wrong, and that winning isn’t always everything!

Kleyman & Co Solicitors.  The full-service law firm.  Good value for money.