Expert Forensic Consultation

Booking and cancellation terms

Payment is what confirms the booking

The fee is paid in full here — there is no deposit stage and nothing further is invoiced. A court date is not held for you until that payment is received, and where two matters want the same date it goes to the first confirmed payment.

Cancelling or adjourning a court date

More than 14 days' notice and you are refunded in full, or we hold it as credit — your choice. Between 7 and 14 days, half comes back. Inside 7 days there is no refund, because by then the file has been read, the evidence prepared and the day held against other instructions that were turned away. An adjournment requested inside 14 days counts as a cancellation unless you can give us the new date at the time you tell us.

How much notice we need

The surcharge turns on one thing: how many days Dr Robertson has. Seven or fewer — counting to your hearing, or to the day you need the advice — and it is an urgent booking, priced as one above. More than seven and it is the standard fee, however close to the line it falls; there is no separate minimum to clear. We ask for 8 business days where you can give it, which is not a different price but a better chance the date is still open when you book it.

Anything within 7 days costs 50% more

Short-notice work displaces other commitments, so every service on this page carries a 50% surcharge when it is needed inside 7 days — a phone consultation as much as a court appearance, because both are hours taken out of a week already committed. Tick the within-7-days option above and it is in the price shown; nothing further is invoiced. Those bookings are not refundable once confirmed, because the time is held and the preparation starts at once. If your date is that close and you would rather check availability first, ring us before you order.

Phone advice is not a court booking

The three advice options are booked by this office once payment is received — Dr Robertson does not take direct calls, so we agree the time with you and put it in his diary — and they can be moved by agreement. If you decide not to go ahead before he has started reviewing your material, the fee is refunded less the 30% administrative fee set out in our refund policy. Taken within 7 days, an advice booking follows the short-notice rule above instead: the time is set aside immediately, so it is not refundable once confirmed.