Frequently Asked Questions
Questions:
- But I didn’t do it! Can you represent me if I want to plead not guilty?
- I didn’t do it, but can I just plead guilty and get it over with?
- I booked through all-lawyers because I thought I committed the offence and was prepared to plead guilty, but your agent lawyer advised me that I had a real defence to the charge. What now?
- What happens to the money I paid all-lawyers if I agree with my lawyer that I should plead not guilty?
- I pleaded guilty, but after my lawyer made his/her submissions, the magistrate decided to adjourn my matter to a later date for sentencing. Can all-lawyers still act for me?
- I have to appear in the District/County/Supreme Court and I will be pleading guilty before the judge. Can all-lawyers act for me?
- I pleaded guilty before the magistrate, but s/he transferred my matter to the District/County Court for me to be sentenced by a judge. Can all-lawyers still act for me?
- My husband/wife/partner has also been charged as well as me. We both want to plead guilty before the magistrate. Will all-lawyers charge less to appear for both of us?
- When I booked over the internet I typed in the wrong court &/or court date. Can I change it?
- I tried to book over the internet, but you don’t have my court listed. Can all-lawyers still act for me?
- Can I make a reservation directly through your agent’s law firm?
- Why do all-lawyers first put the fees into a trust account?
- I am unhappy with the legal representation I received. Can you help?
Q:
But I didn’t do it! Can you represent me if I want to plead not guilty?
A:
In that case, you should contact a lawyer who will defend you. all-lawyers only act for people who intend pleading guilty. By focussing on representing people pleading guilty in the magistrates’ courts we can offer dramatically reduced fees, but a defended matter takes much more preparation and is hard to calculate a fixed fee. You can, of course, contact one of our agents at the court you are to appear, to act on your behalf in a defended matter. You will have to enter into a separate fees agreement with them.
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Q:
I didn’t do it, but can I just plead guilty and get it over with?
A:
No. If you didn’t commit the offence, then you cannot enter a plea of guilty. And if you tell your lawyer you didn’t commit the offence, then ethically he cannot enter a plea of guilty on your behalf. If you tell the magistrate you didn’t commit the offence then he will automatically put your matter down as a plea of not guilty and adjourn your matter to a date for hearing.
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Q:
I booked through all-lawyers because I thought I committed the offence and was prepared to plead guilty, but your agent lawyer advised me that I had a real defence to the charge. What now?
A:
When taking your instructions your lawyer will ask particular questions relating to any possible defences you may have. A common example is with an assault charge. If you were acting in self-defence and your actions were appropriate in the circumstances then you may be found not guilty after a hearing. If your lawyer considers that you have a defence, then you should enter a plea of not guilty and have a hearing date set.
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Q:
What happens to the money I paid all-lawyers if I agree with my lawyer that I should plead not guilty?
A:
If you intend pleading not guilty, you should immediately instruct the agent lawyer to represent you at the hearing. Your agent lawyer will enter a plea of not guilty on your behalf and the magistrate will set a hearing date. all-lawyers will charge you $150.00 inclusive of disbursements and GST if you booked online, or $170.00 inclusive of disbursements and GST if you booked by phone for this court appearance, and we will transfer $550.00 from our trust account to the lawyer’s trust account once we receive a signed authority from you to transfer the money to them. These funds can then be used towards paying your lawyer to appear at the hearing.
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Q:
I pleaded guilty, but after my lawyer made his/her submissions, the magistrate decided to adjourn my matter to a later date for sentencing. Can all-lawyers still act for me?
A:
Sometimes a magistrate will adjourn a matter so that further references can be tendered, or for you to attend a relevant course such as a ‘driver education’ course. In this case, you will be billed the total set fee of $700.00 incl of disbursements and GST if you booked online or $720.00 inclusive of disbursements and GST if you booked by phone for the initial appearance where all of the work was performed. You can then arrange to be represented by your agent lawyer on the subsequent court (or any subsequent court) dates for a set fee of $170.00 inclusive of all disbursements and GST per adjourned appearance. This fee has already been negotiated between all-lawyers and our agents, and you must pay this fee directly to the agent and not to all-lawyers.
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Q:
I have to appear in the District/County/Supreme Court and I will be pleading guilty before the judge. Can all-lawyers act for me?
A:
No. all-lawyers only act for people pleading guilty before a magistrate. We do not appear in the District, County or Supreme Criminal Courts. More serious criminal matters are dealt with before a judge. Pleading guilty before a judge takes much more preparation and it is hard to calculate a fixed fee. You can, of course, contact one of our agents at the court you are to appear to act on your behalf. You will have to enter into a separate fees agreement with them for this service.
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Q:
I pleaded guilty before the magistrate, but s/he transferred my matter to the District/County Court for me to be sentenced by a judge. Can all-lawyers still act for me?
A:
The magistrate decided that, although having the power to deal with your matter, the circumstances were serious enough for you to be sentenced by a judge (who can hand out a longer sentence than a magistrate).
You should immediately instruct the agent lawyer to represent you at the sentencing before a judge. This will be heard in the local District/County Court and, depending on the seriousness of the matter, you may also need a barrister to represent you. all-lawyers will charge you $150.00 inclusive of disbursement and GST if you booked online or $170.00 inclusive of disbursements and GST if you book by phone, for the court appearance before the magistrate, and we will transfer $550.00 from our trust account to the lawyer’s trust account once we receive a signed authority from you to transfer the money. These funds can then be used towards paying your lawyer for their appearance before a judge of the District/County Court. We have negotiated with our agent not to charge you for this first appearance, provided you engage them for the sentencing before a judge, otherwise they are entitled to charge you $550.00 for that initial appearance.
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Q:
My husband/wife/partner has also been charged as well as me. We both want to plead guilty before the magistrate. Will all-lawyers charge less to appear for both of us?
A:
No.
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Q:
When I booked over the internet I typed in the wrong court &/or court date. Can I change it?
A:
If you put in the wrong court or court date then it will have to be changed, otherwise there will be no lawyer to meet you on the correct day. You will have to re-book by telephone and pay a $22.00 (inclusive GST) administration fee on top of the $700.00 (inclusive disbursements and GST) fee.
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Q:
I tried to book over the internet, but you don’t have my court listed. Can all-lawyers still act for me?
A:
If you are to appear at a country town court then we may not be able to help you. But if it’s a metropolitan court that we don’t yet service, then please telephone us at least a week before your appearance and we will try to arrange for an agent to appear.
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Q:
Can I make a reservation directly through your agent’s law firm?
A:
In principle you could, but you would have to pay up to 100% more! The special rate listed on our website is only available through all-lawyers. Our close relationship with our agency firms – all of whom are experienced magistrates' court advocates, and the fact that we take care of all the administration, allow us to offer this highly discounted rate. The agency firms will not have these rates on file. If you would like to make a booking directly with a law firm you will have to pay the higher fees for a full service.
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Q:
Why do all-lawyers first put the fees into a trust account?
A:
Because you are paying all-lawyers money before the legal work is performed, your money must be kept in our trust account. This gives you the added protection of placing money into a bank account regulated by trust account laws and regulations, and regularly audited (sometimes by surprise) by the Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory. After the all-lawyers agent has appeared on your behalf, all-lawyers will render a tax invoice for $700.00 inclusive of disbursements and GST if you booked over the internet, or $720.00 inclusive of disbursements and GST if you booked over the phone, and transfer that money from our trust account to our office account in payment.
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Q:
I am unhappy with the legal representation I received. Can you help?
A:
Unfortunately, no matter how good a job your lawyer did, a magistrate might still hand out a hard sentence. If, however, your lawyer considers that the sentence was too harsh, he may advise you to appeal to the District/County Court. You will then be free to instruct your lawyer directly and to enter into a fees agreement with them for the appeal. all-lawyers do not take instructions in appeals.
If you consider that the lawyer did not provide you with adequate representation, then please do let us know.
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