Disputes can arise at any time and in connection with almost any aspect of your business or private life. In Eastbourne East Sussex, Cornfield Law LLP have Solicitors with the experience and expertise to assist you resolve matters.

At Cornfield Law LLP, Solicitors in Eastbourne  East Sussex, we work together with our clients to help them resolve disputes in the way best suited to their needs, at a price they can afford, whether by negotiation, mediation or litigation.

As experienced Solicitors linked with Eastbourne’s oldest firm, Coles & James, we have the expertise to undertake all types of Court work including :

• Employment matters, such as dismissal or discrimination
• Contract or commercial disputes
• Landlord & Tenant and other property related matters
• Contested wills and inheritance claims
• Negligence claims

Emily Lake BA (Hons), is a Consultant at Cornfield Law LLP and specialises in Civil Litigation.

Emily joined our team in 1998, qualified as a Solicitor in 2000 and became a Member in 2004. Her expertise and advice have enabled many clients successfully to resolve partnership disputes, employment matters, neighbour and boundary disputes, solicitors' negligence claims, building disputes and contested probate and inheritance matters.

High Court claims relating to a £1,000,000.00 personal guarantee, high value option agreements to purchase land, and breach of trust and fraud have all been brought to a successful conclusion. World wide freezing injunctions have been obtained for clients to protect assets pending settlement.

As your local Solicitors in Eastbourne, Cornfield Law LLP will always aim to provide a friendly and efficient service. Please ring to make an appointment, or contact us now by email: elake@cornfieldlaw.co.uk

Charging Policy

Employment Tribunal Costs

Costs for an employment tribunal matter vary significantly depending upon the type of claim.

Unfair Dismissal Claim

If you have been dismissed and believe you have been the victim of unfair dismissal then you can bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal. If you have insurance available, that might cover your costs, or some of them, otherwise you have to pay your own costs. We can help you to set out your claim, completing the necessary paperwork for the Tribunal. Your former employer then must reply and then the Tribunal will fix a hearing date. Costs for dealing with your claim, reviewing the response from your former employer, taking witness statements from your witnesses, if available and considering your former employer’s witness statement and arranging for representation for you at the Tribunal hearing can vary considerably from case to case depending upon the number of documents, the number of witnesses and the complexity of the case. An unfair dismissal claim could cost £10,000 to £20,000 plus VAT £2,000 to £4,000 or even more. Our costs are based on an hourly rate, currently £295.00 plus VAT.

The Tribunal might fix an interim hearing in addition to a single final hearing. This could easily cause costs to increase by £5,000 plus VAT £1,000 or even more per hearing.

If new evidence comes to light it might be necessary to apply to the Tribunal on your behalf for an interim hearing for permission to amend your claim.

If you are an employer and a former employee brings a claim against you then we can help you prepare a response to the claim within the allowed time scales.

The parties are meant to consider settlement.

One party, usually the employer, must agree with the other party a bundle of documents and prepare it for the Tribunal hearing. Witness statements need to be completed and exchanged with the other side. A list of issues, a chronology, a list of witnesses might all need to prepared for the Tribunal.

Preparation for the final hearing will include briefing Counsel and Counsel can charge £2,500 - £5,000 plus VAT £500 - £1,000 per day or even more depending upon experience. These costs for Counsel, called disbursements, are in  addition to our costs. If the claim is complex or involves a considerable amount of paperwork there might be a need for further disbursements, further use of Counsel, to draft the paperwork.

If some of the above stages are not needed, then clearly the length of time and the costs involved will both not be as great.

If there is considerable documentation and if there are several preliminary hearings then of course costs will increase. The length of time for a straightforward unfair dismissal claim from start to final hearing is in the region of 6-12 months. Sometimes the final hearing is not the end of the matter, there might be a further hearing for the Tribunal to decide upon the remedy, or the outcome. Even then, one party might decide to bring an appeal which will prolong the matter even further, and costs more.

Debt Recovery

Cornfield Law LLP does not deal with debt recovery.

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As a practice of Eastbourne (East Sussex) based litigation solicitors, can be contacted by telephone to discuss how, as litigation solicitors in Eastbourne, we can help or e-mail or visit our offices to make an appointment. We aim to give our clients the best advice at all times whilst providing a friendly and informal atmosphere for both clients and staff.