Fees

Professional Fees*

Witness Preparation is unique.
It is one-of-a-kind, and bespoke to your needs.

For this reason we have a simple fee schedule.

Pro-bono

As determined on a case-by-case basis.
All initial enquiries are pro-bono and a first consult is always free and not time limited to 30 minutes. We understand your case needs time to unpack, and we give you that time.

Property Settlement / Spousal Maintenance

We charge a flat rate of 5% or $10,000 plus disbursements, whichever is the higher at the time of settlement for all property matters.
Spousal Maintenance applications are considered part of property proceedings and fall under this fee structure. We do not charge extra for Spousal as part of property proceedings.
Fees are calculated on the gross settlement amount the client is awarded by Judgement, Consent orders, mediation, or any other process arising from the family law matter before the courts, or in any collaborative process.
A costs disclosure agreement will set out the full details of the fee arrangement.
Family violence has a unique impact on victims in family law proceedings, and our fee structure has been deliberately structured to enable the client to access support services without financial distress during proceedings. We understand the position of the victim intimately, and have built our service accordingly. Our fees are approximately one day of your lawyers costs and we consider them very affordable and cost effective.
We do not segment our work into 'funded and unfunded'. If we assist you, we assist you across everything in your case.

Disbursements

Investigative work is a large part of what we do. This means we conduct title searches to determine property ownership and other details, and ASIC corporate searches, as part of our normal case preparation. These charges are separate to our flat-rate fee and may be included in the final bill, or some payment may be requested at the time of conducting the investigative work. This will be discussed with the client and full transparency and accountability is given at all times.

Terms

Fees are payable at the time of settlement funds being paid into your solicitor's trust account, or into your personal bank account.
If we are required to travel interstate, all accommodation, flights and travel costs for interstate matters are booked and paid for in advance by the client or their solicitor.
Travel within Melbourne metropolitan areas and the Latrobe Valley are included in our fees.
In the event that a witness/client evinces an intention to present evidence in the witness box inconsistent with their obligation to be a witness of truth, we fully reserve the right to withdraw our services and issue our invoice in line with our agreed cost disclosure agreement.

You should note:

Witness Preparation does not provide legal advice;
Witness Preparation Australia does not coach witnesses;
The nominated Witness Preparation consultant is retained as a Clerk Ad Hoc of the legal firm so as to be bound by legal professional privilege and other obligations of confidentiality imposed by law, to enable the Witness Preparation consultant to be fully informed about all matters concerning the case if required, and to have the fullest possible involvement in the gathering of evidence if that is required. In addition, the instructing law firm can be completely confident that confidential material can be shared with impunity and that courts can be satisfied that the consultant is part of the clients legal team;
The appointment of the Witness Preparation consultant as a Clerk Ad Hoc does not imply that there is to be continuing employment of the Witness Preparation consultant, but is to last only as long as necessary for the provision of the professional services as required.