Family Law: How we Work

We are not taking on Legal Aid work, however we have compiled a list of helpful resource links here which will offer you guidance. 

We have also outlined key information on how our Private Pricing Plans work.

Legal Aid Resources in Northern Ireland

• Legal aid | nidirect
• Check if you can get legal aid – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Legal aid | Department of Justice (justice-ni.gov.uk)
• Legal aid FAQs – financial eligibility in advice and assistance | Department of Justice (justice-ni.gov.uk)
• Law Society’s list of solicitors
• Citizen’s Advice Bureau

Private Pricing Plans

At Wilson Nesbitt, we will tell you how much your case is likely to cost at the outset and we keep you updated about costs during the process. We offer various payment options depending on impacting factors and what suits you best;

• Building up a Retainer; Clients can build up their retainer, so for example a client could initially pay a £500/£750 retainer and then following that would pay a monthly payment for £100-£200 per month, which allows them to build up their account so the final bills don’t sting as much.

• Instalment Plans; Once we set a fee for you, then we may look at a three month period for you to pay the fixed fee in instalments

• Pay Later; This could be applied if you (the client) are waiting for a property sale with our Residential Property team, so we would work in partnership with our Conveyancing department to plan out the timeframe and pricing.

Our pricing is completely transparent and in some cases you can choose between hourly rates and an agreed fee.

What are the benefits of paying Privately for legal services?

• Experienced Solicitors: You will benefit from a Senior Solicitor’s years of experience on similar cases, this is not always the case with Legal Aid work. If senior solicitors do legal aid work they do it at a loss.

• Having more control over your case: Private Client Solicitors are not only more experienced but they are wise to strategies which work and therefore are specialists in their field. They will have seen cases just like yours before and will know the most effective plan to achieve the best outcome for you.

• Faster Resolution: In some cases, time (and money) is necessary to stop the prosecution before a charge is brought. This work is done on a private client basis.

• Best Communication: We put the client first, we enjoy what we do and it shows, we’re easy to deal with and we’re open to new ideas. 

• Professional Teams: You get to choose exactly who you would like to work with and build a rapport with our team, and our associated professionals. Sometimes a case requires another professional expert and we might recommend the services of a Forensic Accountant or a Senior Barrister, who will work in your favour -however these specialists will not work at the lower legal aid rates.

• Client Service Excellence: We have a proven track record of high quality work and efficiency in our  delivery of legal services to our clients.

• Professional Accreditations:  When choosing any professional service, you want to ensure you are choosing the best and that goes hand in hand with certified legal accreditations. Legal accreditations ensure high levels of professionalism, offer you a competitive advantage, credibility, compliance of high standards in security, practice management & client care, along with offering you peace of mind. 

Find out more about our firm’s accreditations here.

Get in Touch  

Call us on 0800 840 9292 to get in touch with our expert Family Law Team and we’ll advise you on the first steps and best solutions which will suit you, your family and your future plans.