EVERY PRICE ON ONE PAGE · GST INCLUDED
You'll be told what it costs before any work starts.
Not an estimate. Not an hourly rate that grows every time you ring with a question. A fixed number, agreed in writing, that you can pay in instalments. This page lists all of them — including the times you'd be better off paying nothing at all.
A fixed fee, not a meter
Most lawyers charge by the hour — commonly $350 to $700 of it. That means every phone call, every email and every question you were nervous about asking adds to the bill, and nobody can tell you the total until it's over.
We don't work that way. Before any work begins you're quoted a fixed fee for your matter. That figure is what you pay. If your case takes longer than expected, that's our problem, not your invoice.
It's pay as you go. The fee is split into instalments across the life of the matter — a limited licence is two payments of $460, a section 106 discharge is five of $575 — so you're never asked for the whole amount at once.
You are welcome to ring and ask questions. It doesn't cost extra. That is rather the point.
The thing clients say most often isn't that it was cheap. It's that they knew the number before they started.
Where the money goes
Two separate things get paid, and they don't go to the same place.
The legal fee — paid to Melanie Coxon, barrister. Fixed, GST included, payable in instalments.
Court fees — paid to the court, not to us. We don't take a cut and we can't reduce them. They're listed further down this page.
Instructing solicitor: barristers normally take instructions through a solicitor. If you haven't got one, we arrange one — at no extra cost to you.
Two numbers most matters are built from
Traffic, drink-drive and criminal charges vary too much for a single all-in price. So they're priced from these two rates instead, and you're told at the first appointment how many of each your matter is likely to need.
Appointment — phone, Zoom or office
$230
For however long it takes. You come off the call knowing what you're charged with, what's realistically going to happen, what you should be doing this week, and what the whole thing will cost.
Court appearance
$230
Per appearance at the Auckland District Court. $287 at other greater Auckland courts. Often you don't need to be there — which for a shift worker is worth more than a discount.
What each service costs
Every figure below includes GST. Where a fee is payable in instalments, the instalments are shown. Where there's a fee that only becomes payable if the application succeeds, it's shown as its own line — never folded into the headline number.
Work / Limited Licence
A court order letting you keep driving for work while disqualified or suspended. Anywhere in New Zealand.
$920
Paid as - 2 × $460
3rd or later disqualification - + $230
Includes the affidavits, filing, dealing with the police, and a barrister appearing for you — by Zoom, at any court in New Zealand.
Traffic
Careless or dangerous driving, failing to stop, sustained loss of traction, driving while disqualified.
From $460
Appointment - $230
Court appearance (Auckland DC) - $230
Other greater Auckland courts - $287
Most traffic matters are one appointment and one or two appearances. Defended hearings and complicated matters are quoted separately — see below.
Section 106 — discharge without conviction
Pleading guilty, but with no conviction recorded — where a conviction would cost you a career, a visa or a licence out of all proportion to what happened.
$2,875
Paid as - 5 × $575
— plus, only if the discharge is granted - $1,150
This is the one service where we are not the cheapest, and we don't claim to be. It's also the one where the work does the most.
Drink Drive
Excess breath or blood alcohol. Advice, checking the police procedure for defects, and representation.
From $460
Appointment - $230
Court appearance (Auckland DC) - $230
3rd or later — sentencing submissions - $2,875
Defended hearing (Auckland DC) - $1,725
Sentencing submissions payable as 5 × $575.
Criminal Defence
District Court level — assault, theft, dishonesty, drugs, wilful damage. Diversion, plea discussions, sentencing submissions.
From $460
Appointment - $230
Court appearance (Auckland DC) - $230
Diversion appeal submissions - $690
— plus, only if the appeal succeeds - $575
Complicated matters are quoted after full police disclosure. See "when a fee isn't fixed", below.
Section 94 — community work instead of disqualification
For driving while disqualified or suspended. Must be applied for at the same time as the guilty plea — miss that window and the option is gone.
$1,725
Payable in - 3 instalments
— plus, only if granted - $287
3rd application - $2,850
Against a market of $2,500–$5,000 for driving while disqualified.
Court fees — paid to the court, not to us
These are set by the Ministry of Justice. We don't receive any part of them, and we can't reduce them. They're listed here so the number you're budgeting for is the real one.
Which ones apply depends on why you lost your licence, so you won't pay all of them.
Filing fee — court-ordered disqualification - $175
Filing fee — demerit point suspension - $275
Sealing fee, when you collect your order - $69
NZTA licence fee ~$48.70
Current as at 8 August 2026. Court fees change; if you're reading this much later, check the link.
Paying
The fee is split into instalments across the life of your matter. Nobody is asked for the whole amount up front.
When each payment falls due
A first payment of $230 at your first appointment — or within 24 hours of it, if the appointment was by phone or Zoom. By that point drafts of your affidavits have already been prepared, so the work is under way before the second payment exists.
The balance is spread from there. Fees are payable in full 48 hours before your final court hearing.
If money is genuinely tight
Say so at the first appointment rather than at the end. Instalments can usually be restructured — that's easy to do at the start and difficult later.
Ways to pay
Online bank transfer
Credit or debit card, including over the phone
EFTPOS
Cash
Gold nugget
Account details are on your letter of engagement. All fees are payable to the credit of Barrister Melanie Coxon.
What clients say about the money
Notice what's being praised. Not that it was cheap — that they knew the number in advance.
★★★★★
"I was given a fixed cost before the process even started and was more than happy."
Harry Leona
★★★★★
"A lawyer not for her fees only — you worked on it as if it was your own problem."
Dean Naidu
★★★★★
"The advice was always clear, the communication was exceptional, and the overall service was far more cost-effective than I expected given the quality of the work."
Adrian Vroegh
★★★★★
"Flexible with payments if you're struggling with money."
John Abram Dolotina