The SRA (under the SRA Transparency Rules) requires authorised firms to publish mandatory pricing information in relation to certain types of legal services.

The services provided by Baker & McKenzie LLP which are covered by the Transparency Rules are: (a) employment tribunal support to businesses in respect of unfair and wrongful dismissal claims and; (b) the preparation and submission of immigration applications (excluding asylum applications) for individuals.

This page sets out the information required under the Transparency Rules in respect of these types of legal services.

For information about pricing for any other services provided by Baker & McKenzie LLP, please contact a partner in the relevant practice area.

Employment - Tribunal Claims
The London office provides employment tribunal support to businesses only (not individuals). We have set out below our pricing as required by the SRA's Transparency Rules for defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal.

Fees
We charge fees based on hourly rates. Our hourly rates typically range from £240 to £880 (excluding VAT) depending upon the complexity of your matter and the level of experience required. Fee ranges for cases of different complexities are set out below:

Simple case: £25,000 - £50,000 (excluding VAT)
Medium complexity case: £50,000 - £125,000 (excluding VAT)
High complexity case: £125,000 - £300,000+ (excluding VAT)

VAT is currently charged at 20%.

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
  • If concurrent proceedings are brought in the Employment Tribunal and the High / County Court
  • The conduct of other parties to the claim
  • Making or defending a costs application
  • Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled or whether the Tribunal has jurisdiction to hear the claim
  • The number of witnesses and documents
  • If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if an individual alleges dismissal after blowing the whistle
  • Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal
  • Allegations that the dismissal is linked to a TUPE transfer
  • Having to address complex issues relating to remedy
  • Defending a claim linked to a related compliance or regulatory investigation

Disbursements
The above costs represent an indicative fee for Baker McKenzie's advice only. Disbursements may also be payable. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees, counsel's fees or those of a medical expert (if, for example, questions of disability needed to be addressed). We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Counsel's fees are estimated between £1,500 to £5,000+ excluding VAT (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing. Preparation may be charged separately on an hourly rate basis or included within the daily rate. We would discuss with you the right level of advocate to defend your claim.
VAT is currently charged at 20%.

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 a response to the claim
    • Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process
    • Considering and advising you on 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 a 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 Counsel

The stages set out above are provided as an indication only and if some of stages above are not required, the fee will be reduced.

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. If a settlement is reached during preclaim conciliation, your case is likely to take two to three weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 20 - 39 weeks (but could take longer if, for example, the hearing needs to be postponed because of witness availability or if the Claimant is unwell). This is just an estimate and we will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale as the matter progresses.

Our team
All members of our Employment Law Group are qualified to advise on defending employment law claims both in the Employment Tribunal and the High Court. All litigation is supervised by one of the senior members of the Employment Law Group whose details can be found below.

John Evason
Partner
John's practice is varied, often advising clients on their most strategic employment law matters including advising on senior executives dismissals and board room disputes, large global reorganisations and other global projects, employment litigation (including discrimination and High Court claims), union issues including disputes, industrial action and union recognition matters, other collective employment matters including large scale redundancies and restructurings, various regulatory related matters, including in the financial services sector, mergers and acquisitions and outsourcings in addition to day to day employment law support.
Monica Kurnatowska
Partner
Monica advises clients from sectors such as financial services, technology and manufacturing on the employment aspects of strategic projects. These include global M&A and restructuring, sensitive discrimination, whistleblowing and bonus disputes, investigations, and accountability reviews. Monica is also knowledgeable about TUPE, European Works Council and unions issues. She also advises on employment litigation.
Stephen Ratcliffe
Partner
Stephen advises clients from various industries on a broad spectrum of employment and employee benefits matters, including employee tax and share schemes. He also advises on the data protection aspects of outsourcings, reorganizations, integrations and general M&A, as well as on global employee mobility issues. Stephen also has substantial experience in litigation related to employment and employee benefits. He has represented clients in numerous cases before Employment Tribunals, as well as in appeals at all levels up to and including the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the European Court of Justice.
Carl Richards
Partner
Carl focuses on advising organisations on the employment aspects of financial transactions together with more general employment and litigation advice. Carl focuses on employment advice linked to financial transactions including Carve Outs, Mergers and Acquisitions, Transactions and Corporate deals.
Kim Sartin
Partner
Kim advises senior legal and HR professionals on a wide range of employment and data protection matters. Kim advises on a wide range of employment issues with a particular focus on the global HR aspects of transactions (carve outs, M&A, outsourcing), global projects, complex and high value employment litigation, data protection and compliance, collective rights (unions, industrial action and European works councils), and the employment aspects of investigations, as well as day-to-day HR matters.
Julia Wilson
Partner
Julia advises senior legal and HR stakeholders on a range of employment and data protection matters. Julia focuses on multi jurisdictional and high-value matters involving strategic, operational, financial or reputational risk. She handles complex employment litigation, data protection and compliance, and global projects and transactions. She also advises on the implementation of organisational change and restructuring, including redundancy and collective consultation issues), as well as outsourcing arrangements, senior executive terminations and severance agreements.
Jon Tuck
Partner
Jon advises a wide variety of clients across a number of sectors on a broad range of employment law matters, including TUPE and senior executive issues for a number of clients as well as collective rights and modern slavery issues. He also advises on transactions and restructuring, and high value employment litigation in the Tribunal and High Court.
Paul Harrison
Of Counsel
Paul's practice covers the full range of employment law advice. He has helped draft employment documentation and bonus schemes and has represented clients in employment tribunal litigation for unfair dismissal and discrimination. Paul also handles High Court litigation and has assisted clients in implementing collective redundancies. He also works on the employment aspects of mergers, acquisitions, outsourcing and termination of senior executives.
Annabel Mackay
Of Counsel
Annabel has extensive experience of advising employers and employees on a range of complex employment issues. Annabel advises on the full range of employment issues with a focus on contentious and advisory work in the financial services sector. She also advises professional practices and service providers on compliance with their equality law obligations. Annabel has particular expertise in defending high value whistleblowing and discrimination complaints involving regulated individuals. Annabel has also provided on-site support to clients in relation to integration and harmonisation projects.

Immigration - advice and representation in respect of immigration applications

The London office provides advice and representation to individuals in respect of Tier 1 investor extension applications. We have set out below our pricing as required by the SRA's Transparency Rules in relation to the same.

Fees
We charge fees based on hourly rates. Our hourly rates typically range from £146 to £760
(excluding VAT) depending upon the complexity of your matter and the level of experience required. Under normal circumstances our fees range from £10,000 to £15,000 (excluding VAT) for an extension application. For settlement and citizenship applications our fees range from £4000 to £8000. VAT is currently charged at 20%.

The exact cost of an application will of course depend upon the circumstances of your case, such as:

  • the amount of supporting evidence available;
  • whether the case is straightforward or more complex; and
  • whether you are applying with your dependants.

If you are able to provide sufficient evidence at the outset and clearly meet the applicable Immigration Rules, the cost is likely to be at the lower end of this range.

Key Stages
The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:

  • discussing your case and assessing your eligibility under the Investor rules
  • considering supporting documents and advising on whether you meet the criteria
  • if you do not fulfil certain criteria, whether this can be overcome and how
  • where necessary, advising you on further documents required
  • preparing your application and submitting it on your behalf
  • providing detailed instructions for biometric appointment including what documents to submit and a cover letter if necessary
  • if a Home Office interview is required, providing clear advice on what is required
  • giving you advice about the outcome of the application and any further steps you need to take.

The stages set out above are provided as an indication only and if some of stages above are not required, the fee will be reduced.

Disbursements
The above costs represent an indicative fee for Baker McKenzie's advice only. Disbursements may also be payable. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. The following disbursements may be incurred for an investor extension application applying in-country:

  • Visa application fee for main application: £1638
  • Visa application fee for each dependant: £1638
  • UK Visas & immigration Priority Service fee: £500 
  • NHS Surcharge: £624 per year for each year of stay per applicant and partner and £470 per year for each year of stay per child
  • Translation fees: This will vary depending on the size of the document to be translated All disbursements will be subject to VAT at 20%

The costs quoted here do not include:

  • advice on traffic offences or criminal convictions
  • Where the Home Office refuse your application, advice and assistance in relation to any appeal

Additional fees will be incurred if the advice required is beyond the scope indicated above.

How long will my application take?
We will normally be able to submit this type of application within three weeks of you instructing us, but we will let you know at the earliest opportunity if it is likely to take longer than this. We cannot guarantee how long the Home Office will take to process your application.

Please note the anticipated number of hours and fees are an estimate based on the facts above. All applications are likely to vary and of course, we can give you a more accurate estimate once we have more information about your specific case.

Our team
Our Global Immigration & Mobility team has over 50 years of collective experience in delivering high quality immigration services. The following team members advise upon all areas of UK immigration and nationality work, and related European Union law, with emphasis upon employment and business related applications:

Tony Haque
Senior Associate
Tony leads the firm's Global Immigration & Mobility team in London and coordinates immigration work for a number of clients on a global and regional basis. He has over 20 years of corporate immigration experience.
Richard Mills 
Senior Associate
Richard is a solicitor with over 10 years of corporate immigration experience. He deals with a broad range of clients and works closely with our international network of offices to obtain visas for employees taking up assignments in the UK.
Ying Li
Senior Immigration Specialist
Ying has over 10 years of corporate immigration experience. She has particular experience dealing with clients in the technology and industrial sectors, but deals with a wide range of clients. Ying is a qualified Chartered Legal Executive.
Wendy Mortimer
Senior Immigration Specialist
Wendy has over 10 years of corporate immigration experience. She has particular experience dealing with clients in the technology and financial services sectors.
Natasha Crook
Immigration Specialist
Natasha has over 10 years of corporate immigration experience. She has particular experience dealing with clients in the financial services and energy mining and infrastructure sectors.
Tomoko Sasaki
Immigration Specialist
Tomoko has over eight years of corporate immigration experience. She has particular experience dealing with Japanese clients, although she deals with a variety of clients. All of the above team are also members of our wider Global Employment & Compensation Practice Group, which provides advice in respect of related corporate, tax and labour law issues.

All of the above team are also members of our wider Global Employment & Compensation Practice Group, which provides advice in respect of related corporate, tax and labour law issues.