Costs and Funding Information

Black Antelope Law is committed to providing clear price and service information in line with the BSB price transparency guidelines.

We are registered for VAT under Registration Number 287 3315 82. We are, therefore, required to add VAT to our charges at the rate in force at the time (currently 20%) to fixed prices, estimates and fees. VAT may also be added to some disbursements.

1. Our organisation’s most commonly used pricing models for legal services:

Unless an alternative basis of charging is agreed with you, our professional fees exclusive of VAT are based on the time spent dealing with your matter. Our staff’s time spent progressing the matter is charged out at an hourly rate, which reflects their specialism/experience and overhead costs. Where applicable, our hourly rates to be applied are set out in our client care letter too. Ordinarily, our hourly rates are between £160 to £425. VAT will be added where applicable.

The hourly rates above are reviewed annually in January, but we reserve the right to alter rates at other times. We reserve the right to add an uplift to our hourly rates to take into account factors such as: complexity, financial value, importance to you (the client), the particular expertise of the fee earner and urgency. You will be notified of any changes to the rates. If you wish to cease instructing the firm as a result of any increase in rates, you are free to do so.

In assessing the time spent on this matter, the person with the responsibility for drafting the bill will take into account the following: the time spent in attendances; drafting routine letters/emails and documents, making and receiving telephone attendances/texts; perusal and consideration of documents; consideration of letters received, consideration of strategy; legal research, travelling; weighting; advocacy; file opening and compliance procedures; preparation; preparing attendance notes and providing copies of documents for you after completion of your matter.

2. Information on the factors which might influence the timescales of the organisation's most commonly provided legal services:

When our lawyers are instructed to provide advisory work, unless otherwise agreed, we expect to return work within 14 days and we will aim to keep you informed if that changes for any reason, for example due to the client not providing timely and complete instructions; illness; or urgent court work on another matter.

When our lawyers are instructed to provide services regarding litigation, timescales will usually depend on similar factors mentioned with regard to advisory work, plus response times of the court; the opponent; and any other third parties directly involved in the litigation, such as expert witnesses for example.

Public Access Work

Where a barrister at the firm is approved to undertake direct public access work, members of the public can instruct them directly without the need for a solicitor (external or at the firm). You may find it helpful to read the Public Access Guidance for Lay Clients.

Our pricing model for public access services will ordinarily be based on an hourly rate for all advice, review and preparatory work, whereas fees for hearings and conferences will ordinarily be a fixed fee based on our best estimate of the time commitment that will be involved based on the number of issues and amount of paperwork likely to be involved.

Public Access - Financial Disputes following divorce

Our barristers can advise you if you and your former partner cannot agree on financial matters during, or after, a divorce. For example, you may not be able to agree on how assets should be divided, whether to sell your home or other assets, maintenance payments, or pension sharing.

If you cannot agree, you can apply to a court for a financial remedy order. You may need to attend a number of court hearings if you cannot reach agreement – our barristers can represent you in these hearings.

Timescales: timescales for your case may vary depending on factors such as barristers’ availability, the value and complexity of your assets, whether you have children, how much you have already agreed with your former partner, and their approach. Written advice on your financial dispute will be available within two to four weeks wherever possible. As a guide, court hearings for a financial order tend to take six to eighteen months, but they may take longer depending on your local court. This does not include possible appeals.

Fees: we may charge fixed fees, which means that we will charge you a set amount of money for the work. Below we provide estimates based on the ranges of fixed fees for barristers where the parties have joint assets which are worth less than £300,000. All fees exclude VAT (where applicable).

If we charge fixed fees, these may be towards the higher end of the range if you need a more experienced barrister. If you have a particularly complex case, for example, due to the nature of the assets, jurisdictional disputes, etc your fees may also be higher than the estimates below. There are also likely to be additional costs for any experts such as surveyors, accounts and independent financial advisors.

Stage of case/ranges of fixed fees (estimates):

• Written advice on your financial dispute, preparation of case, including meetings (conferences) with you and assistance with drafting of any court documents: £160-£425

• First directions appointment (first court hearing) £1500 – £3000

• Financial dispute resolution appointment (second court hearing to reach a financial settlement with the assistance of a judge) £3,000 – £5,000

• First day of final hearing (if no settlement was reached in the financial dispute resolution appointment ) £5,000 – £8,000

• Court appearances per day, after the first day of the final hearing - £2,000 to £5,000

Contact us: all information is correct as of January 2026, but fees are estimates only. For a specific quotation, please contact the family clerks on 0330 223 3105. Please also contact the clerks if you and your former partner have joint assets which are worth in excess of £300,000.

Public Access - Immigration Appeals (First-tier Tribunal)

Please note that in addition to the information set out below, travel to courts outside the Greater London area will attract an additional charge depending on location and the time of the hearing.

If you wish to appeal against a Home Office visa or immigration decision, our barristers can advise and represent you. You can ask us just to submit an appeal form, or ask for a hearing at the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) – our barristers can advise you about this. The First-tier Tribunal can also itself decide to hold a hearing.

Please note that barristers are not allowed to do legal aid work on a Public Access basis. To help you make an informed decision about whether to apply for legal aid or proceed with Public Access, you can use the legal aid eligibility calculator on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid.

Timescales: timescales for our services may vary depending on factors such as barristers’ availability, the complexity of your case and the need for additional documents. As you must appeal a decision within 14 days (from within the UK) or 28 days (from outside the UK), please contact the clerks as soon as possible.

You may also need advice and/or representation at short notice. If so, please contact the clerks: our barristers will aim to advise you and/or represent you at a hearing where possible.

Fees: we may charge fixed fees, which means that we will charge you a set amount of money for the work. Below, we provide estimates based on the ranges of fixed fees for our barristers. All fees exclude VAT (where applicable).

Stage of case/ranges of fixed fees (estimates):

• Initial conference: £500 to £1,500

• Written advice on appeal: £1,000 to £2,500

• Preparation of appeal, including meetings (conferences) with you and assistance with completion of forms) £2,500 to £5,000

• Preliminary hearings (CMRH/Directions): £750-£1,500

• Appeal hearing (day one): £2,000 to £5,000

• Tribunal appearances per day, after the first day: £1,500 to £2,500

Contact us: all information is correct as of January 2026, but fees are estimates only. For a specific quotation, please contact the immigration clerks on 0330 223 3105.