At Cousins Tyrer we hold a criminal defence legal aid contract. If you are to be interviewed by a police officer whether at home or at a police station you are eligible for FREE advice and representation. Please contact us either on the office number 0113 247 0400 or our out of office hours number 07860 928404 if it is urgent. Please don’t text as this number is diverted to whoever is on call and will not be seen until the next working day. We are on call 365 days a year so we are available whenever you need us.

Legal aid for cases at court may be available but this will depend upon whether you qualify financially and the case is considered to be in the interests of justice according to the terms of the legal aid scheme. We will advise you about your eligibility and assist you in making an application to the legal aid agency should you choose to do so.

In circumstances where legal aid is unavailable or you choose not to make an application, we provide specialist representation at a fair price.

In you are to appear before the Leeds Magistrates court and plead guilty we are able to offer a fixed fee of £400+vat to represent you. This includes all the work necessary in preparing your case for court, holding a meeting with you at our office and appearing in person to represent you at the court hearing.

If you are appearing before the Leeds Magistrates court for a contested hearing which could be a trial where you have pleaded not guilty, A hearing where you have pleaded guilty but dispute the facts of the case or a hearing where you seek to avoid disqualification from driving, we offer a fixed fee of £1000+vat provided that the case is concluded inside two appearances before the court

For cases before any other Magistrates court in the Yorkshire area but outside Leeds we will offer representation for the fixed fee of £600+vat for a guilty plea and £1200+vat for a not guilty plea

In the event that your cases is unusually complex or is to be Heard outside Yorkshire we will provide you with an estimate as to costs which will update as the case progresses and not less than every six months. Our hourly charging rate is £217 per hour which is the guideline rate applied to solicitors whose office is in the Leeds City centre.

The fees quoted above do not include disbursements. So; if it necessary for example to obtain expert reports in support of your case this will be at additional cost.