Lakhvinder Singh Braitch – Partner – Solicitor (also referred to as Lax Braitch)
L S Braitch is the Senior Partner of Braitch Solicitors and has extensive experience in immigration & asylum, residential conveyancing and commercial conveyancing.
Lakhvinder has been working in these areas of law for a number of years since being qualified in 2001.
Lakhvinder Braitch is also the Supervisor of the Immigration/Asylum Legal Aid Department and manages the day to day running of the firm.
Sandeep Kaur Braitch
Sandeep Kaur Braitch was admitted as a solicitor in 2003 and supervises the Residential Property Department.
Davinder Singh Braitch
Davinder Singh Braitch was admitted as a solicitor in 2015 and has experience in residential conveyancing and specialises in immigration and asylum law.
Sunita Mall
Sunita Mall was admitted as a solicitor in 2014 and has experience in immigration and asylum law.
Mariam Bhatti
Mariam Bhatti was admitted as a solicitor in 2017 and has experience in immigration and asylum law.
Details of staff at the West Bromwich office:
Jaskamal Singh Rai is a partner of the firm. Mr Rai qualified in 2003 and works in the residential conveyancing, commercial conveyancing and immigration departments. Mr Rai currently manages and supervises the branch office of Rai Legal 380 High Street West Bromwich B70 9LB.
Raman Kaur Sall is an assistant solicitor who joined the firm in 2014 as a paralegal and qualified in 2017.
Mrs Salh also works at the branch office and currently works in the residential conveyancing and commercial conveyancing departments.
Our Fees
Immigration Hourly Rate Matters
For immigration matters it is difficult for us to give an exact estimate as to our fees. We do have fixed fees for immigration cases and this is variant on each individual case, no case is the same and, therefore, it is difficult to advise exactly what the fees are for certain applications but on a straight forward application the fees offered are as follows:
Our firm’s hourly rates are set out below. These also vary depending on the amount of contact we have from yourselves. Some clients contact the office regularly and, obviously, incur additional costs, however, from our experience the below are indicative:
Application for Naturalisation under the British Nationality Act 1981
Our fees are approximately £500-£750 ( including VAT £600- £900) depending on the complications surrounding the naturalisation application, i.e. if there is any criminality, absences abroad, checking English test and depending on the experience of the fee earner.
Home Offices are subject to change – please see the Home Office website or contact our offices.
Applications for Registration under the British Nationality Act 1981 also vary and from our experience the fees are approximately £500-£750 excluding VAT (£600-£900 including VAT).
Application for European Economic Area Nationals again these vary depending on the type of applications, if it is permanent residence, residence cards or registration cards. A good estimate of fees varies from £500 to £750 excluding VAT (£600-£900) and £200 excluding VAT for each individual dependent. (240.00 inclusive of VAT)
Applications under the Immigration Rules such as spouses and partners or visitors our fees are generally fixed on those, namely £1000 ( £1200 inclusive of VAT) for preparing applications, £250 ( £300.00 inclusive of VAT) for the online application and there is an additional cost of £250 where the sponsor is self-employed. (£300.00 inclusive)
To deal with Priority Service £250 plus VAT (£300)
Exceptional Funding for Legal Aid Applications are charged at approximately £250-£500 excluding VAT (£300-£600 inclusive of VAT).
Fee Waiver Applications for Home Office Fees are charged at approximately £500-£600 excluding VAT (£600-£720 inclusive of VAT).
All the above exclude handling fees which are as follows:
Special Delivery £75 plus VAT ( £90.00)
Recorded Delivery £50 plus VAT (£60.00)
Storage Fee £25 plus VAT (£30.00)
All the above exclude any judicial review and appeal work.
Once applications are posted out then the hourly charges are applicable and our hourly charges are set out below:
Solicitors and Legal Executives with over 8 Years Experience
Attendance, Advocacy & Preparation £201.00 excluding VAT (£241.20 inc. VAT) (per hour)
Travel & Wait £100.50 excluding VAT (£120.60 inc. VAT) (per hour)
Letters & Telephone Calls Out £20.10 excluding VAT (£24.12 inc. VAT) (per item)
Solicitors and Legal Executives with over 4 Years Experience
Attendance, Advocacy & Preparation £177.00 excluding VAT (£212.40 inc. VAT) (per hour)
Travel & Wait £88.50 excluding VAT (£106.20 inc. VAT) (per hour)
Letters & Telephone Calls Out £17.70 excluding VAT (£21.24 inc. VAT) (per item)
Other Solicitors, Legal Executives and Fee Earners of Equivalent Experience
Attendance, Advocacy & Preparation £146.00 excluding VAT (£175.20 inc. VAT) (per hour)
Travel & Wait £73.00 excluding VAT (£87.60 inc. VAT) (per hour)
Letters & Telephone Calls Out £14.60 excluding VAT (£17.52 inc. VAT) (per item)
Trainee Solicitors, Paralegals and Other Fee Earners
Attendance, Advocacy & Preparation £111.00 excluding VAT (£133.20 inc. VAT) (per hour)
Travel & Wait £55.50 excluding VAT (£66.60 inc. VAT) (per hour)
Letters & Telephone Calls Out £11.10 excluding VAT (£13.32 inc. VAT) (per item)
Disbursements are also not included, that is the cost of interpreters, arranging for translation of documentation and the above also excludes work carried out of hours on Saturday is considered out of hours and any home visits which are also charged at a premium.
Licensing Applications
Simple application to vary a designated premises supervisor our fees are normally in the region of £275-£325 plus VAT (£330-£390).
In relation to a new application of medium complexity our hourly rates are set out above and we normally envisage 5-6 hours’ worth of work subject to the size of the premises.
Disbursements
£23 Licencing Fee
£23 Transfer of Designated Supervisor Fee
Again, please contact our office for a full estimate.
Please note this excludes any disbursements payable to surveyors, local council and appeal work. All fees exclude any barristers’ costs.
The firm will clearly set out all costs in the client care letters. Clients are reminded to check the client care letter to ensure it confirms with their understanding as to the costs and, if not, to raise the issue directly on the next available appointment with the appropriate fee earner or partner, thus avoiding any issues on costs.
The firm is also able to provide advice and assistance under Legal Aid in the area of immigration and asylum, judicial review and Court of Appeal work under Certificate Legal Aid work.
Notarial Work
Please note the notarial work is not regulated by the Law Society and is not authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Mr L S Braitch, who is the Notary of the firm, works independently and has his own separate indemnity insurance in that regard.