Welcome to Hatrick & Co Solicitors – Specialists in Business Law and Small Business Advice
The firm was established in 2002 by John Hatrick, a practising English Solicitor (SRA: 27203) and separately practising Spanish Lawyer (‘Abogado – S/C de Tenerife – 6266’) with over 20 years experience in English business law, including:
- Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution;
- Commercial contracts and Documentation;
- Company and Self-Employment Start-Up Advice and assistance;
- Debt Recovery and Insolvency Law.
Having worked for several years in a city firm in Central London, John Hatrick established Hatrick & Co Solicitors in order to provide dedicated advice and assistance to small business owners in London and the South East. John soon discovered that most small business clients want to deal with a single solicitor and not be passed from pillar to post every time they have a different type of legal problem. They want to build a relationship and understanding with that solicitor, who can then advise and represent them more efficiently due to already understanding their business and the relevant laws.
The firm also focuses on customer service and satisfaction. “I hear so many complaints from business owners and managers regarding their various solicitors” explains John. “Many take an age to respond to basic communications or cannot be contacted other than via their secretaries. Many charge through the nose for every second spent on a case despite making no visible progress. Others don’t provide detailed explanations in plain language. Others take on so much work that they cannot turnaround even basic work in a reasonable timescale. Some simply don’t appear to care about their client’s case”.
If any of the above are familiar, perhaps it is time to change the way you obtain legal advice for your small business.
We can provide advice and assistance in both English and Spanish.
For a no-obligation chat to discuss your needs or to obtain references from our existing clients, please get in touch via our ‘contact us’ page above. We look forward to hearing from you.
SRA Price Transparency Rules
Debt Recovery
Initial Debt Recovery letters start at £50.00 plus 20% VAT for standard letters incurring no more than 24 minutes work.
Typical procedure involves drafting and sending an initial Letter before Claim, together with handling and advising upon any response received and/or entering into any further pre-action dialogue by telephone or correspondence with the debtor or its solicitor. Thereafter, proceedings are typically issued in the County or High Court for recovery of the sum(s) claimed. The Debtor then has a period to acknowledge and file a Defence, following which the court may list a timetable leading to trial. The timetable typically includes preparation and exchange of lists of all relevant documents, plus preparation and exchange of witness evidence in writing, plus preparation for trial, including trial bundles (Claimants only).
The timescale for the above procedures up to and including trial is extremely difficult to predict, particularly since the coronavirus outbreak. However, common timescales for Small Track cases (under £10,000 value) can be around 6 to 9 months, whilst Fast Track cases (over £10,000 but trial of no more than 1 day) can be anywhere upwards of 9 months to 18 months depending on the court and the directions given.
After the initial Letter before Claim, all work is strictly chargeable at our fixed hourly rate of £240 plus 20% VAT (all work conducted by John Hatrick (Sole Practitioner/Partner level – Grade A), except for travel and waiting time and attendance behind a barrister at Court (all chargeable at £120 plus 20% V.A.T. per hour). Please note that 100% of such fees are typically not recoverable from the other party at the end of the case, even if your claim is successful. For more information on this complex subject, please contact us directly.
Disbursements (which may attract 20% VAT where applicable), may include court issue fees (on a sliding scale from £35 up to 5% of the value of the Claim or £10,000, whichever is the greater), tracing agent fees (starting from £50 and upwards) and barrister’s fees should the case proceed to a contested hearing (typically starting at £125 plus 20% VAT per hour and upwards and fixed fees are negotiable for fixed hearings and trials, depending on the grade of barrister instructed). For example, a very junior barrister may typically expect between £1,000 and £1,500 plus 20% V.A.T. for preparation and attendance at a 1 day Fast Track trial.
Complaints
We take our client service very seriously and go above and beyond to resolve any issues that may arise between us at an early stage. However, in the very unlikely event you may have a complaint about our services, you are invited to raise the matter with sole practitioner John Hatrick in writing or by telephone in the first instance. Your complaint will be registered and promptly acknowledged, following which you will receive a detailed written response within 7 days.
Thereafter, if you are still not happy with our response and feel that the matter cannot be resolved satisfactorily via ongoing communication with us, you are invited to raise the matter with the Legal Ombudsman: (https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/ Tel: 0300 555 0333), or by email to: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.
Finally, if you believe we have breached any Solicitors Regulation Authority Code of Conduct (dishonesty, fraud, discrimination etc), and you have complained to us directly, but are unsatisfied by any response received, you are entitled to raise the matter directly with the Solicitors Regulation Authority using the following link:
https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.page
To view our GDPR Privacy Policy, click: HERE