Fee Structure
One of the most important aspects of hiring a lawyer is to have a clear understanding of how you are being charged. Our office charges clients in two different ways. The first is to charge clients at an hourly rate for the time spent by the lawyer on the case. This is the traditional method of charging clients and is not preferred by most clients as there is no guarantee of how much you will be charged at the end of a case.
The second method of charging clients which many clients prefer is to be charged a set fee or block fee for the completion of services. This means that the client and lawyer agree on how much the lawyer will be paid for each step of a case or for the entire case. This allows the client to know what they will be charged before a case begins.
Lawyers will also charge for out-of-pocket expenses or disbursements. These are in addition to fees and are money paid out by the lawyer for your case. This can include court filing fees, mileage, photocopying and other expenses.
If you hire us to be your lawyer we will agree with you on a method of charging fees and the amount of those fees. This method of billing can be one of the above methods or a combination of them.
Prior to us starting work on any case a retainer payment is required. This is a deposit for services which will be provided and will vary from case to case.
Fees will always be discussed at your first meeting with us.