# Motor offence solicitors



## TTurbo (Jul 5, 2002)

Just wondering if anyone here has any experience with solicitors who specialise in motoring offences.

Got the dreaded summons through yesterday and I'll be looking at a ban (over 100 mph on the motorway), I've been quoted over Â£800 by an expert to represent me, is this excessive?

Thanks in advance for any advice


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

Not to sound cheeky - but - why bother? Whats he gonno do? You are facing fine and points atleast and probable ban. Spending Â£800 on a specialist defence counsel will obviously just add to the already pending costs incurred. Unless of course you take the Judge out in the TT and show him how safe a drive the TT feels @ speed ;D. G L anyway.


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## M44RT L (May 6, 2002)

Have to agree...don't waste your money. Judges are bound by law to dish out the statutory minimum fines/bans. Your mitigating circumstances will have absolutely no bearing on the outcome of your case.

Bummer, :'( I know but there it is...good luck tho :-/


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

I think that you guys should not be so quick to offer advice on such a serious matter unless you have been through the process yourselves.

To counter your statements of 'its all just a big waste of time', a colleague who was caught speeding was facing a long ban and a fine. Â He hired a barrister or a solicitor (not sure which) and was able to have his ban period reduced by half! Â I think this was done through arguments around the fact that his job depends on this ability to travel and the fact that his wife was heaviily pregnant.

A good advisor MIGHT be able to reduce your ban/fine somewhat. Â There is at least one lawyer on this forum and I hope he pipes in with some advice.

P.


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

Was this counsel a specialist or just a standard defence lawyer? I think that in the case of traffic offences its down to damage limitation so having any form of legal representation is a help. A specialist might cost more but to a judge is he anymore persuasive?
Also the stories of "...I need the car for my job..." is not washing as well with the traffic courts any longer.....Judges retort that if you use the highway so much and you are caught doing excessive speeds then you are more likely to be doing this habitually - so the heftier the fine etc the more likelyhood of you are not to offend again.


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## aidb (Mar 19, 2003)

I'm not saying that you shouldn't have proper legal representation, but just little old you pleading for clemency might go down better with the magistrate. Â


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## Guy (May 13, 2002)

> I've been quoted over Â£800 by an expert to represent me, is this excessive?


Why not make a no win - no fee job? Â 

Dependant on the quality of the expert (you do not say if this is a Barrister - solicitor or whoever) for a one off Court appearance it seems a little high. Â If there are several appearances (because of not guilty pleas) it become a more reasonable amount. Â 
Don't forget that there will (or should be) a reasonable amount of background work into the evidence the police are going to provide and good representation should sift through this fairly closely. Â 
A Magistrates Court can be a old funny place and consistency across the board is not too good. Â Given a previously clean licence and a good lawyer, things should be kept to the minimum levels set in the guidelines (if you are pleading guilty!)
If you can get a morning off, pop down to the Court you are appearing at and get chatting to the Court Room Ushers (The guys/woman fetching and carrying) then ask them who is a good traffic lawyer. Â They will know! Â 
If you speak to the Duty Solicitor he will (or should) be too busy to give personal help but will probably tell you who (s)he rates as being good.
If you are happy (that's not a good choice of word!) you are guilty and intend pleading guilty you may consider forgetting the solicitor. Â A court normally appreciates a well constructed relevant personal plea. Â You could try that approach.

Sorry to use the bandwidth, good luck.


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## TTurbo (Jul 5, 2002)

Thanks for the advice.

I would consider representing myself but I really do need the car for my job (the hours I work and distances I have to travel at short notice, it would be too expensive to hire a driver) and if I got a long ban would always wonder if hiring a solicitor might have been money well spent.

Think I might have to bite the bullet just for peace of mind - it can't do any harm can it?


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## mav (Jan 9, 2003)

hi TTurbo

I am a corporate/commercial solicitor but one of my colleagues does road traffic/transport law - we are based in Bristol - I will ask him on Monday whether he thinks the quote you have been given is fair - and whether he could represent you instead for less (not sure we do no win-no fee).

I would always advise you to have a barrister (as he is) or a solicitor with "rights of audience" with you in court - I know for a fact that he is sometimes able to get people off completely on the basis of a technicality - either in the collection of evidence or in the way it is presented at court - if you are there on your own, you will not know that you could have in fact been able to get off....

I will post on Monday once Ive had a chat with him.

Really feel for you though - hope you can get this sorted in some way.

Mav


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

Mav - ahh your the lawyer chappy i was thinking of! Do you offer a TTOC discount? ;D


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## mav (Jan 9, 2003)

hi TTurbo

really sorry didnt get back to you on this as I had promised last week.

ok - our traffic/transport law barrister here reckons a fair charge would be anywhere between 500 and a grand depending on the distance he would have to travel to the court. so your guy for 800 sounds about right (unless he's round the corner from you...)

he says that without representation you are likely to get a ban - perhaps 4-6 weeks - but with counsel you might get away with 6 points and a small fine - a ban would clear any previous points so may be preferable anyway but of course you may desperately need your car day to day so its going to be a trade off depending on your personal circs...

best of luck mate

Richard ("Mav")


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## mav (Jan 9, 2003)

hi there phoTToniq

see post above - always happy to help out other forum members where I can - at no charge.

if you came to me and said you needed a software licence agreement drafted (for example) then I would need to channel it through my firm and charge but could agree a fixed fee for the job.... and of course, I'd tell you that I had applied a 10% forum discount  

Mav


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## jonah (Aug 17, 2002)

I was summond to the magistrates court and was given 6 points which took my points to 13 and so was banned for 18months.Was in danger of loosing my Job.
After the case i went straight round to a solicitors and within the Hr he had appealed my case and i had my license back.
Then we had the apeal which went to Crown Court,so a Barrister was needed and pleaded my case  The judge decided to despense of the bann although the points stayed the same and got no extra fine. Kept my Job ;D 
So it can be very worth while in certain circumstances.
Jonah


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## TTurbo (Jul 5, 2002)

Thanks for the advice guys, deicided to bite the bullet and hire him - if I didn't I'd always be wondering 'what if?'.

Fingers crossed for Wednesday morning!


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## whirlypig (Feb 20, 2003)

Â£800 sounds pretty excessive to me. After using a solicitor myself (for around Â£300), I'd certainly consider representing myself should the need arise again.

I consulted a solicitor/barrister who specialised in motoring offences, in fact he was representing 5 other people that I'd got chatting to outside the court. He wasn't the most professional person I've come across, he turned up 20 minutes late which we only found out about from the clerk of the court. His argument lasted but a few minutes which I basically repeated when I was called to stand.

I arranged for my company to provide a letter stating that my car was imperative for my job and that without the car my employment was at risk. This and some mitigation with regards a 500-mile a day round trip seemed to help no end.

I was caught on the M6, doing 98mph, I was told to expect a 14-day or 28-day ban. In the end I was given 6-points and a Â£200 fine. The solicitor was surprised too but said I'd been very lucky to come up before a very lenient bunch of magistrates.

If you're not familiar with the system and you can find someone who comes highly recommended then Â£800 might be a small price to pay.


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## r1 (Oct 31, 2002)

> Â£800 sounds pretty excessive to me. After using a solicitor myself (for around Â£300), I'd certainly consider representing myself should the need arise again.
> 
> I consulted a solicitor/barrister who specialised in motoring offences, in fact he was representing 5 other people that I'd got chatting to outside the court. He wasn't the most professional person I've come across, he turned up 20 minutes late which we only found out about from the clerk of the court. His argument lasted but a few minutes which I basically repeated when I was called to stand.


Perhaps Â£800 would get a better one...


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## Monique (Jun 11, 2002)

My better half is a judge!

She says though the penalties are different in each Euro country, the basic stance of the courts is no mercy.

"Sympathy? Can be found in your dictionary between sh*t and syphilis."

Not my words.

Good luck.


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## TTurbo (Jul 5, 2002)

Well, went before the Magistrates this morning complete with Â£800 solicitor and got.........

a 3 week ban which I'm quite happy with as I was doing 120mph.

Just got to see what it does to the insurance now.........

Thanks for the advice


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## jgoodman00 (May 6, 2002)

Thats no so bad considering it was 120!


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

Represent your self. It's not that dififcult. If you are in excess of 30+mph over the posted limit, a ban is on. You can mitgate this if you can prove that your license is essential for your job, or you are disabled etc.

Using 'flash' lawyers can sometimes inflame the Bench to punish more than they would have if you just come clean and apologise to court.

I got a 1 week ban no points and Â£250 SP30 fine for doing 36mph over the limit. Got a letter from my employer stating my comtinued employment depended on a driving license; a report from the met office saying that the weater was clear and dry at time of offence; and a statement from the RAC saying that traffic conditions were light at the time. Apologised for my indescretion and taking up courts time, praised police for 'fair and polite way' ( :-/) that I was dealt with. Took the rap.

Unless you were way over the limit and conditions are stated as hazardous, I don't see how Â£800 can ne justified.


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## paulatt (Oct 28, 2002)

I have recently received an NIP for speeding at 98 mph on M4. I dont have any other points so what sort of fine/points or ban should I expect for this?


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

> I have recently received an NIP for speeding at 98 mph on M4. I dont have any other points so what sort of fine/points or ban should I expect for this?


Â£60-Â£300 plus 3 points would be my guess if you mitigate well. Let us know - we could run a book


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## Guest (Jun 12, 2003)

4-6 points and 500 squids I reckon. :'(


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

> Unless you were way over the limit and conditions are stated as hazardous, I don't see how Â£800 can ne justified.


I would say that 120 is WAY over the limit and that he was lucky to get off lightly. I reckon the 800 quid brief paid off huh?


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

> I would say that 120 is WAY over the limit and that he was lucky to get off lightly. Â I reckon the 800 quid brief paid off huh?


Well we'll never really know will we? Unless our man entered a parallel universe at the same time and did the same heaing but this time without the brief and represented himself, so that we could make a true comparison. Huh? 

He did well though.


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