Pricing transparency – a guide on our pricing policy

When you are instructing a solicitor to undertake a piece of work for you one of the aspects you will want to know is what the service will cost. This information note is designed to give you an indication of what you might expect with regard to our charges for particular types of work.
Murchison law Limited is a Scottish company of solicitors and estate agents, registered with and regulated by the Law Society of Scotland. We have a wide diversity of clients, spread predominantly across northern Scotland and the Isles, although we also enjoy representing clients from further afield too. Every client of our business is special and may believe that their own circumstances are unique. We generally tend to agree with that sentiment, so our approach is always client centred, offering tailored advice and service to each client.

As regards the cost of a particular service, it is often difficult to state with a high degree of precision at the outset of a piece of work what the final fees will be. We are also often told that our fees are not the cheapest available in the market place, and it is perhaps important that our clients know we do not set out to have the reputation as being “the cheapest on the block.” We enjoy working for clients who share our ethos – that if is a job is worth doing, it is worth doing right and being paid for appropriately. The following paragraphs elaborate further.

When you instruct us in a specific matter we will issue you a formal letter of engagement. Amongst other things, that letter will set out what our fees will be. That will be stated either by way of a fixed fee quotation or by stating the basis on which fees will be calculated, usually by reference to an hourly rate for all work done. It is often the case that we can’t offer to do work on a fixed fee basis, because of the complexity of the task to be undertaken or because at the outset it is simply incapable of being stated with any accuracy how much work is going to be involved. If we can’t give a fixed fee quote then, where possible, we will offer a cap on fees or agree certain parameters with you. Where we agree a maximum fee with you and the matter turns out to be less complicated than we might have anticipated, you can expect the fees will be less than indicated. Similarly, where the work actually becomes more complex than anticipated, we aim to let you know as soon as possible during the course of the transaction, and how that will impact on the price we will charge you.

Fees calculated by reference to an hourly rate

Some forms of work, for example a litigation in the Sheriff Court or Scottish Land Court, will never usually attract a fixed fee. In such cases we charge on a time and line basis. The rate charged will be dependent on who is undertaking the work for you. A note of our current fee rates for standard matters we undertake for individuals is below. There are separate rates for commercial work we are asked to undertake. Please contact us separately, as appropriate.
Fee rates as at January 2025 are:
Director / Consultant £310
Senior Solicitor / Associate Solicitor £275
Solicitor £250
Trainee Solicitor £220
Non legal qualified assistant /Paralegal £150
All fee prices quoted are subject to VAT at the prevailing rate, currently 20%, and outlays at the cost they are incurred by us on your behalf.

Outlays

If the work you instruct us to do for you involves us instructing others to provide a service, the cost of that service is known as an outlay. Examples of outlays include Court fees for sending specific documents, Registers of Scotland fees for searches or for registering a title or document, or the cost of drafting plans. All outlays paid by us in the course of undertaking your business are simply passed on to you at whatever cost we incur, no more, no less. We always seek the best service, deal and economy for our clients when it comes to outlays.

Some examples of areas of work we are often instructed to undertake.

Having stated some broad guidelines, below are some examples of work we regularly undertake where we are able to provide an indication of fixed fee quotes. If you don’t see the type of work you are considering asking us to undertake for you, that is either because we tend not to be instructed to do that sort of work or we can’t provide fixed fee quotes. If you are in doubt, please ask using the “Contact Us” tab on this site and we’ll be pleased to help where we can. If you are a solicitor seeking to refer work to us, for example related to crofting or land law, we would encourage you to make direct contact with us so we can discuss how we may assist your client.

Crofting

For a simple regulatory crofting application, such as a croft registration, or a decrofting direction request, sub-division or sub-let application, a fixed fee in the order of around £750 is usually charged, plus vat and outlays.
For the straightforward purchase or sale of a croft tenancy, fixed fees usually in the order of £2750 – £3250 are charged, depending on level of complexity plus vat and outlays.

Purchase or sale of Residential Property (Conveyancing)

For all the legal work involved in the sale or purchase of a home – including forming an appropriate contract (known as “missives”) and attending to the transfer of title and mortgage paperwork – fixed fees usually in the order of £2250 – £4250 are charged, depending on the level of complexity and whether the title to the property is already registered in the Land Register of Scotland.

Estate Agency

When it comes to marketing property, our company is increasingly recognised as concentrating on the sale of bare land or land with development potential. This is usually charged for on the basis of a fixed percentage of the sale value (often 1.5% of the sale value), subject to a minimum fixed fee, usually £2000, plus vat and outlays.

Wills

It is our view that everyone should have a will. If your instructions are complex, we may not be able to offer this service for a fixed fee. For the making of a simple will our fees tend to be in the region of between £400 – £600 plus vat. There are usually no outlays associated with this process.

Executry

An executry is process of winding up the legal and property affairs of someone who has died, known in England and Wales as “probate.” We do not offer to undertake this type of work on a fixed fee basis.

Power of Attorney (Incapacity)

When someone wants to appoint another person to act on their behalf in the event they lose capacity to make decisions for themselves it is possible to put a power of attorney in place. A typical fee for this sort of work will be in the region of £600 – £800, plus vat with the outlay of registering the document being as at January 2025 £96.

Legal Aid

We are not registered to provide services with the benefit of assistance provided by the Scottish Legal Aid Board.