Expert Witness Funding – Myth Busting

“Estimates are quotes”

You may think the distinction is semantic, but it’s not. A quote is a fixed price for providing a service whereas an estimate is an indication of how much something is expected to cost.

Whilst we make every effort to estimate as accurately as possible and draw upon many years of experience when doing so, given the often-bespoke nature of instructions, it is inevitable that different experts will sometimes value work differently.

If you receive a cheaper estimate, it may be that:

• We’ve estimated for a different scope of work (e.g. more items/findings or greater scrutiny)
• A competitor is not providing the same standard of service (e.g. not checking critical findings and opinions or not getting work peer reviewed), or
• We’ve made some assumptions about what we might encounter which could ultimately not play out (we may have erred on the side of caution to avoid causing you additional work in securing an extension to funding at some later date)

If you do get a cheaper estimate, but you’d rather place your instructions with us, it’s always worth getting back in touch so we can help you ‘spot the difference’ and take a view on whether we could deliver our quality assured service at a lower price point.

“You have to go with the provider who has the cheapest estimate”

Although the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) in England and Wales name an organisation/person on the prior approval decision, you don’t have to go with this service provider. The LAA have confirmed to us, and our previous experience backs this up, that prior approval is entirely transferrable – and you don’t have to tell the LAA you’ve chosen to go with someone else for funding to transfer. All the LAA require is that expenditure doesn’t exceed the authorised limit.

“Self-authorisation limit includes VAT”

The Legal Aid Agency in England and Wales will only provide prior approval for disbursements if the cost is £100 or more. Below this level, solicitors can self-authorise expenditure and recover monies, without quibble, on taxation. Importantly, the £100 threshold is exclusive of VAT, so it’s the net charge for goods or services that’s important, not the gross cost with VAT included.