The cost of litigating in the English Courts is notoriously high. Despite this, all too often businesses do not budget properly for litigation costs. Through the use of Addleshaw Goddard's unique and innovative costs estimating tool, we will provide you with a realistic estimate of what it will cost you to take your case to trial. Our tailored estimate will identify for you in simple terms:

• the likely stages that will arise in your dispute

• the corresponding cost of each stage

• a timetable showing when the costs for each stage will fall due

The estimate will include all legal costs and expenses that we think you can reasonably expect to incur over the life of your dispute. This will include our fees, and those of counsel, experts and all other likely expenses connected with seeing the dispute through to its end. Armed with this information at the outset, you will be in control. You will be able to:

• budget accurately for the costs that lie ahead

• measure progress against budget as your dispute evolves

• make decisions about whether to settle or continue the claim based on accurate forecasts

Since our estimate is not an agreement to carry out the work at a fixed price (unless we expressly agree otherwise with you in writing) we will review the costs estimate with you regularly. This will ensure if the developing circumstances of your case require us to increase or reduce the estimate you will know as soon as possible and can plan your business on relevant and accurate information.

Legal costs and expenses play an ever more important role in the litigation decision making process. We acknowledge that it is essential for us to identify at an early stage and keep updated the level of financial exposure you may face, and for that analysis to be as accurate as it can be. We achieve this by:

• monitoring costs on all our cases, identifying trends and applying that knowledge to our costs estimating process

• training our lawyers to estimate accurately the legal costs and expenses of litigation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution

• using our internal costs estimating tool that allows all our lawyers to supply you with a bespoke estimate

Although you may face many risks in litigation, we believe that legal costs and expenses should be capable of being defined with reasonable accuracy. With this in mind, we will help you understand the financial parameters of your dispute at an early stage and allow you to budget properly for the costs that lie ahead.