Before
seeing a lawyer, it is important to understand how a lawyer charges for
his services. Make sure the fee arrangement you and your
attorney agree to is in writing so there is no misunderstanding
regarding the fees a lawyer is charging.
There are three primary methods of charging fees.
1. Flat fees;
2. Hourly rates; and
3.
Contingency fees
Flat
fees: Lawyers
typically charges flat fees when the approximate amount of legal work
can be predicted in advance. Flat fees are common
when
the matter involves routine matters such as wills,
power of
attorney. real estate closings,and most criminal matters.
Litigation expenses are generally not
included in a flat fee.
Hourly rates:
Lawyers
typically charge an hourly rate for litigation matters and complex
legal matters. Typically, the lawyer
will require
an advance deposit to secure the payment of future fees and will submit
regular billing statements to the client. When
legal fees
and expenses exceed the advance deposit, the client is responsible for
paying the billing statements as they are received.
Hourly rates are common in most family law matters and
complex
litigation matters. Litigation expenses are
generally not
included in the hourly rate.
Contingency fees:
Under this arrangement, the lawyer and client agree that the lawyer's
fee will be a percentage of a client's recovery in a case.
Typically, if a case is lost, the client
does not
owe any attorney's fees, but will still be responsible for costs and
expenses. Contingency fees are common
in personal
injury and automobile accident cases. Contingency
fees
are absolutely prohibited in some matters such as most family law
matters. Contingency fee agreements must be in
writing.
Costs and Expenses:
Costs and expenses are not normally included in
the fee a
lawyer charges. Costs and expenses include court
costs,
filing fees, subpoena costs, photocopies, postage, and other expenses
associated with prosecuting or defending a client's case.
In some contingency matters, the client will still owe costs
and
expenses even if the case is lost, and the client does not owe any
legal fees.
