Each Keystone lawyer has a published hourly rate which is sometimes referred to as a headline rate'. These rates are displayed on Keyed-In. They are not published externally. Having a headline rate gives consistency across the firm and allows you to confidently quote a colleague's normal hourly rate. As mentioned, you can increase the fees of a colleague, but any mooted reduction requires their consent.
There are six types of work where the SRA requires us to publish our fees. Accordingly, we have published a range of fees on our website for the relevant services:
If you undertake such work and would like to comment on the published pricing, please contact the Director of Operations and Compliance.
Central Office offers a range of client services as set out in our Rate Card. In addition to these services, the following are available to clients at the costs set out below (note these are at cost, no Introducer Fee accrues on these Central Office fees):
Keystone lever arch file £5.00 Keystone ring binder £3.00
Subject to regulatory requirements and our culture, and excluding Central Office client services, you are free to agree any fee and any method of charging with the client in relation to your own time. However, we encourage colleagues to charge appropriate rates that reflect our brand and position in the market. We also operate a minimum fee of £300 plus VAT per matter, as fees below that level would not be economically viable. If you are thinking of taking on work for a low fee per matter, even if it's volume work and the aggregate fee otherwise seems healthy, you should contact the Director of Operations and Compliance before giving any fee quote. One example of this is acting for a large number of clients being made redundant and settling with their employer, where the employer pays a small fee per head to the employee to take legal advice.
Where several lawyers are working on a single matter, it is important that the Client Owner or Lead Lawyer (as appropriate) first agrees a scale and method of charging with colleagues and then with the client to ensure the client gets a consistent message on fees. In our flat structure, the Client Owner or Lead Lawyer (as appropriate) must ensure that their colleagues are not subjected to unnecessary fee exposure or fee pressure. In the event of a shortfall of fees, priority will be given to the Fee Notes of Acting Lawyers before those of the Lead Lawyer and Client Owner, unless all lawyers have expressly recognised and accepted the fee exposure.