ABOUT ALFRED JAMES & CO SOLICITORS LLP
Our team has many years of combined experience in delivering high quality work in all matters relating to Employment Tribunals and the processes that take place after you have been unfairly or wrongfully dismissed from a workplace.
Most of the services we offer are on an hourly rate basis as we find every case is different and some are more complicated than others. Our clients are given an estimate of costs when we have an initial consultation with you to discuss all the aspects of the case.
Our Employment Team acts for a broad range of employer and employee clients. Their employer clients include entrepreneurial start-ups, established companies and professional services firms. We also represent senior executives and board directors, LLP members and partners, entrepreneurs and high profile public figures.
Whether you are an employer or an employee we can help you to understand your legal rights and duties and achieve the best possible outcome for you.
We have three members of the team who may work on your matter. Regardless of who works on your matter, they will be supervised by our Senior Partner.
Our Employment Team Includes:
Adedeji Sijuwade
Senior Partner
deji.sijuwade@localhost
Connect with Adedeji
Deji is the Managing and Senior Partner of our firm with over 20 years’ experience in private client work, specialising in Housing, Landlord & Tenant, Immigration, Personal Injury and International Commercial Transactions and Business Law.
Deji has been working in these areas since he qualified and has helped thousands of families and individuals with his wealth of legal experience, such as assisting to successfully overturn an appeal at the Court of Appeal on the matter of Williams v Central Bank of Nigeria, with regards to a Chancery matter relating to Breach of Trust – further details can be found here.
Deji is a member of the Law Society of England and Wales and a Member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.
Education: Thames Valley University 2000 LL.B (Hons), Legal Practice Course University of Hertfordshire 2004
Year of Qualification: 2006
Omowunmi Morohundiya
Solicitor
o.morohundiya@localhost
Omowunmi qualified as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 2005. She attended The University of Buckingham. She has a wide range of Legal Professional experience in both the Public and Private Sectors having worked extensively with various local Authorities and thereafter private law practice. She currently covers Private Client work in Family, Probate, Employment Debt Collection, P.I and General Civil Matters in our firm.
Year Of Qualification: 2005
Adebayo Ogunbode
Locum Solicitor
Ade.ogunbode@localhost
Adebayo qualified as a solicitor in 2002. He obtained his master’s degree (LLM) from Kings College University in London (1989). Adebayo has gained experience in the following areas of law namely Prison, Criminal litigation, Civil litigation, Immigration, Employment, Debt Collection and Landlord and Tenant. Adebayo currently specialises in property law (Residential and Commercial) with his experience in the same spanning over 13 years. Adebayo has kept himself abreast in property law by attending several professional development courses.
Year Of Qualification: 2002
Siraney Jeyarajah
Paralegal
Siraney.jeyarajah@localhost
Siraney is a Paralegal and has been working at our Firm since June 2018, assisting the Senior Partner in various areas of law such as Immigration, Family, Personal Injury, Employment Civil Litigation, Debt Collection, Probate and Housing matters. Siraney has 7 years’ experience working as a Immigration Case Worker, and 4 years’ experience in Family Law. She obtained her LLB at the university of Essex in 2012 and completed her Legal Practice Course in 2015 at the University of Law. She speaks French and Tamil fluently.
Year of Qualification: LLB 2012 & LPC 2015
WHY CHOOSE US?
We understand that dealing with matters regarding your employment or your business can often be a difficult time especially if the situation is a personal one and will affect your future. Alfred James & Co has a compassionate approach towards our clients, and our team are here to help with sound legal advice and can take care of matters for you.
We are proud to have achieved the Specialist Quality Mark (SQM) accreditation for demonstrating that we are well managed, provide excellent levels of client care and have systems in place to ensure delivery of good quality advice.
PRICING
Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal is usually on an hourly rate basis or depending on your financial situation (Employees only) we may be able to offer you a contingency fee agreement. Our hourly rates which you can expect depends on the complexity of your case and the experience of the staff member handling your case:
Senior Partner – £280 + VAT per hour
Solicitor – £250 + VAT per hour
Paralegal – £126 + VAT per hour
Factors that could make a case more complex:
- If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim
- Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person
- Making or defending a costs application
- Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties)
- The number of witnesses and documents
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal
As any of these factors can influence the time taken to resolve a matter, our typical costs can range from approximately £1,000 to £5,000 plus VAT. If we believe that our fees may be higher e.g if the matter is more complex, we will discuss this with you at the outset of your case.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. However you will have to pay these fees
The disbursements you can expect are:
- Barristers Fees for attending the hearing or drafting documentation e.g. pleadings if needed (Barristers Fees are paid by hourly rate and these normally vary depending on the experience of the Barrister and amount of time they work on a case. These will be confirmed to you before we instruct the Barrister). Barrister’s Fees usually attract VAT.
Key stages
The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change)
- Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;
- Preparing claim or response
- Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party
- Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process
- preparing or considering a schedule of loss
- Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing
- Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents
- Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses
- preparing bundle of documents
- Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements
- agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list
- Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including instructions to the Barrister
The stages set out above are an indication and if some of stages above are not required, the fee will be reduced. You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can also be arranged on your individual needs.
How long will my matter take?
The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved e.g. if a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation (which could be achieved within 1-2 months), or if your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing (which would be likely to take 6 months to a year or more). We will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.
Value Added Tax
VAT is currently 20%