Funding & Fixed Fee
As a means to remain competitive we offer the following fixed fees for legal advice at the police station which include travel and waiting. While we understand the nuances of each matter there will be times where we can apply changes at the discretion of the firm’s Director.
From the 6th December 2018 the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) now requires firms to publish price and service information on their website.
At SKB Legal we have adopted the SRA’s transparency rules with a transparent pricing policy. We aim to be realistic about the likely costs in your case and will provide you with an estimate of total costs at the outset. The services specified in the regulations which are applicable to the areas of law practised by this firm relate to the provision of advice and representation at the Magistrates Court in relation to summary only road traffic offences dealt with at a single hearing. A summary only offence is an offence which can only be dealt with at a Magistrates Court. While this can encompass a very wide range of offences for further information on whether a specific offence is a summary only offence, please refer to Schedule 2 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, which can be accessed via the following link: – Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988
Please note that we do not offer Legal Aid at this firm or free legal advice & assistance through the Duty Solicitor Scheme.
Please click the relevant option box below to view our fee structure and what will be included.
Fee Structure – Traffic offences: Guilty Plea
While not every situation or circumstances are the same the following is a guide as to what you can expect for Motoring offences.
Traffic offences, guilty plea: – fixed fee £750
Please note that VAT is not charged on any of the following costs, at present. Currently the rate of VAT is 20%.
Fee includes:
- 2 hours attendance/preparation:
- Considering evidence
- Taking your instructions
- Providing advice on likely sentence
- Attendance and representation at a single hearing at the Magistrates Court
The Fee does not include:
- Disbursements
- Taking statements from any witnesses
- Advice and assistance in relation to a special reasons hearing
- Advice or assistance in relation to any appeal
Fee Structure – Traffic offences: Not Guilty Plea
Traffic offences: not guilty plea: Fixed Fee of £2,00 for half day trial (Or) £4,000 for 1 day trial
Please note that VAT is not charged on any of the following costs, at present. Currently the rate of VAT is 20%.
Fee includes:
- 10 hours attendance/preparation:
- Considering evidence
- Taking your instructions
- Taking statements from any witnesses
- Providing advice on likely sentence
- Attendance and representation at the first appearance, trial and sentencing hearing at the Magistrates Court
The Fee does not include:
- Instruction of any expert witnesses
- Advice or assistance in relation to any appeal
- Disbursements
- The key stages of your matter are based on the presumption that you have entered a not guilty plea.
- Meet with your solicitor to provide initial instructions on what happened.
- We will consider initial disclosure, and any other evidence and provide advice.
- Arranging to take your full instructions and any witness statements if necessary
- Preparing your statement and witnesses statements
- We will explain the court procedure to you so you know what to expect on the day of your hearings and the sentencing options available to the court.
- We will conduct any further preparatory work, obtain further instructions from you if necessary and answer any follow up queries you have.
- We cannot provide a timescale of when your hearing will take place, as this depends on the court listing for that day.
- We will discuss the outcome with you. If advice and representation is required on appeal, this will carry an additional cost.
There are other hearings which require different levels of preparation and in general we can offer the following fixed fee estimates but individual to the circumstances of each matter. We expect that the work required including attendance will be in the region of between 7-8 hours of work applying a rate of £200 per hour. However, we appreciate that there will be instances where from the outset the preparation and attendance may be greater where for example there is travel to an out of area Magistrates Court:
- (i) Special Reasons Hearings (£1,500 fixed fee)
- (ii) Exceptional Hardship Hearings (£1,500 fixed fee)
We can revise the above estimates depending on the particular circumstances of the matter and the work involved.
The Key Stages and Timescales:
The key stages of your matter are based on the presumption that you have entered a not guilty plea.
- Meet with your solicitor to provide initial instructions on what happened. (Approximately 1 hour)
- We will consider initial disclosure, and any other evidence and provide advice. (Approximately 1 hour-1 hour 30 mins)
- Arranging to take your full instructions and any witness statements if necessary (Approximately 1-2 hours although subject also to the number of further statements to be taken)
- Preparing your statement and witnesses statements (Approximately 2 hours)
- We will explain the court procedure to you so you know what to expect on the day of your hearings and the sentencing options available to the court. (Approximately 30 minutes)
- We will conduct any further preparatory work, obtain further instructions from you if necessary and answer any follow up queries you have. (Between 1-2 hours although this could be longer depending on the issues)
- We cannot provide a timescale of when your hearing will take place, as this depends on the court listing for that day.
- We will discuss the outcome with you. If advice and representation is required on appeal, this will carry an additional cost. (Approximately 1 hour)
The Fee Does Not Include:
- Instruction of any expert witnesses
- Advice or assistance in relation to any appeal
Disbursements:
There are disbursements that are associated with undertaking certain Magistrates Court work. Although we do not charge VAT, as these fees are billed directly some may attract VAT at a rate of 20%. The list of disbursements is not exhaustive, however some of the more common disbursements could include:
- Travel Disbursements – these include a mileage charge at £0.25 per mile, parking fees and public transport costs where the hearing to be covered is outside a 20 mile radius of either Luton or London offices. The amount charged will depend upon the distance travelled from our offices. Car Parking is likely to be between £2.50 and £25 depending on the time spent and the location of the car park. These disbursements are generally subject to VAT at a rate of 20%.
- Expert Witnesses – It may be necessary to instruct an expert witness in your case. It is difficult to estimate the cost of this as it varies from individual to individual. The fee can be agreed on an hourly basis or a fixed cost. The fee will be agreed with you prior to instructing any experts. Typically in an uncomplicated case the fees range from £1,000 – £2,000. However, these are just estimates and an accurate cost will be communicated to you, if an expert is required. The expert fees are generally subject to VAT at a rate of 20%.
- Photocopying – there is a photocopying charge where we are instructed to copy bundles or make up additional copies. We would usually charge these costs at 0.10p per page exclusive of VAT at a rate of 20%, or we can agree a fixed fee if the bundle of documents are overly substantial.
Timescale:
Although it is difficult to estimate how long a Traffic offence will take to be completed in general, Magistrate court cases are completed within three (3) months of the first hearing. However, it is extremely difficult to generalise about the length of cases and if you require more precise estimates of the duration of your case, please do not hesitate to speak to one of our advisors. You will be aware that the recent pandemic has had an impact on the time it is taking for matters to progress, which are outside of our control. There may be scenarios where your case is adjourned, or a trial not heard due to insufficient court time. These situations are very often outside of our control. In this type of situation, it will be for our firm’s Director to undertake a routine, but careful assessment, of whether additional fees are required which we can offer on a fixed fee basis considering each element of the additional work required.
The Team
The team consists of Susanta Kumar Banerjee (Supervisor), Kelly Blake, and Niraj Keshwala.

Susanta Kumar Banerjee is the Firm Director and Solicitor-Advocate at SKB Legal. He has 18 years post qualification experience specialising in Criminal Defence Work, Regulatory offences including Business Crime and Fraud offences.
He studied Law at Brunel University and completed the Legal Practice Course from BPP Law School. He undertook training at a specialist niche crime firm in Holborn, London and was admitted as a solicitor on 17 March 2003. He continued to undertake Criminal Defence work in Thames Valley as an Associate at Shakespeare’s Martineau including other Criminal Defence firms in Herts Beds and Bucks before setting up SKB Legal.
Susanta is a public speaker and member of the Ethnic Minority Lawyers Division of the Law Society. Also undertaken representation for those in the public eye including high profile work. He also speaks fluent Bengali.

Kelly Blake is a Consultant Legal Advisor with 3 years post Qualification Experience specialising in general Criminal Defence Work. She was admitted as a solicitor on 15 January 2016. Kelly has undertaken work with a large Legal Aid criminal defence practice prior to qualification.
Her expertise are in all aspects of criminal defence work including experience in prison law work.

Niraj Keshwala is a Consultant Legal Advisor and also separately manages his own Law firm in Leicestershire. He has 10 years Post Qualification Experience and was admitted as a Solicitor on 15 July 2011.
Niraj has undertaken qualification and work in London before setting up his own law firm. He is a specialist in all aspects of criminal defence work and has undertaken both privately and publicly funded work. He is fluent in Gujrati and undertakes all of his own advocacy including trial work.

Stephen Bunker is an experienced legal professional with a particular focus on police investigations but with expertise in enquiries including major crime.
He is the head of our investigations team and has undertaken every criminal offence from petty offences of theft to murder and other grave crimes. He leads on investigations where there is a risk to the integrity or reputation of the individual or company concerned. Stephen has a particular niche specialism in assisting clients investigated for offences of a sexual nature that fall under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 for offences such as rape and sexual assault, to name but a few.
He is accredited by Cardiff University and later worked for several ‘top tier’ criminal defence law firms in London and the surrounding counties. He is well placed to grapple with the most pressing and involved enquiries with professionals and business leaders alike.
Over the years, he has been involved in interviews conducted by the National Crime Agency, Eastern Regional Special Operations Unit and Fraud Squad advising in the most serious cases, including those attracting media attention.
Feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss your matter further or you would like to instruct Stephen on your particular case.