Preliminary advice
Typically 8–15 hours
A short written note on a defined FX, barrier or market-abuse question, once the core documents are in. Enough to decide whether a full report is worth commissioning.
Schedule 2026 · sterling · exclusive of VAT
Fees
£400 an hour
£4,000 a listed day for oral evidence. Sterling, exclusive of VAT. No contingency. A written estimate follows conflicts and scope — most expert work cannot be fixed-price.
Preparation, review, analysis and the report
£400 per hour
Conference with solicitors or counsel
£400 per hour
Oral evidence — court, arbitration or regulator
£4,000 per listed day
Travel and waiting away from the sitting
£200 per hour
A listed day is a reserved sitting day in court, arbitration or before a regulator, or any substantial part of one. Time on the papers remains hourly, including the evening before a hearing.
Planning bands
These are planning bands, not quotes. The estimate in the letter of instruction is the figure that governs.
CPR Part 35 report
Typically 25–50 hours
A single, well-scoped question — a barrier option, a last-look fill, or an independent review of a surveillance alert. Assumptions, method, opinion, and the limits of that opinion.
Book reconstruction or MAR file
Typically 60–120 hours
A residual currency book, a period of orders and trades, or a first-line / second-line surveillance file that has to be read from the data rather than from the alert text. The range depends on the quality of the tape.
Independence
No contingency, success fee, or deferred fee tied to the outcome. CPR Part 35 does not allow it, and the opinion would not be worth having if it did.
Estimate, then a letter
A conflicts check and a short first call are not charged. Substantive work starts only on a letter of instruction and a written estimate. Hours beyond the estimate are not incurred without agreement.
The listed day
Oral evidence is reserved by the day. Any substantial part of a listed sitting day is charged as a day. Preparation the evening before is hourly. A reserved day cancelled with five working days’ notice or less is charged in full; six to ten working days, half; more than ten, released.
Expedition
Where a report is required in fewer than ten working days, a 25% supplement applies to hours worked in that window. We will say at the outset if the timetable cannot be met.
Who pays
The instructing solicitors are the client. Invoices are in sterling, exclusive of VAT where it applies, and payable within 14 days. Disbursements — data, travel, accommodation — are passed through at cost.