Every client of the firm signs a contract that makes the terms of the attorney-client relationship very clear, including the fees.
The firm does not make any profit on ordinary expenses incurred as part of a representation (copies, filing fees, expert fees, etc.). We bill out everything at our cost.
Our fees capture our profit and overhead. We won't charge you for our supplies or faxes or the coffee we grab on our way to the courthouse.
We welcome client questions regarding our bills and billing practices.
The firm does not make any profit on ordinary expenses incurred as part of a representation (copies, filing fees, expert fees, etc.). We bill out everything at our cost.
Our fees capture our profit and overhead. We won't charge you for our supplies or faxes or the coffee we grab on our way to the courthouse.
We welcome client questions regarding our bills and billing practices.
We charge legal fees in several ways, depending on the kind of legal matter:
Hourly, where we can't easily estimate what the representation requires. We use 6-minute increments (1/10th hour).
Flat charging, for transactional work, uncontested probate and other uncontested litigation (such as partition proceedings). I usually try to flat-charge preliminary equitable remedies -- injunctions and temporary restraining orders.
Modified contingency. This is the hardest to explain, but it's intended to provide reassurance to clients that a litigation matter is not a bottomless well of attorney fees. In the typical modified contingency fee, once a threshold number of hourly charges are met (for example, $5,000 in hourly fees), the client's total attorney fees are capped (for example, at $10,000). Expenses are not capped, but the law firm makes no profit on those and has no incentive to run them up. Finally, the firm is guaranteed 30% of the recovery or the fee cap, whichever is greater.
Hourly, where we can't easily estimate what the representation requires. We use 6-minute increments (1/10th hour).
Flat charging, for transactional work, uncontested probate and other uncontested litigation (such as partition proceedings). I usually try to flat-charge preliminary equitable remedies -- injunctions and temporary restraining orders.
Modified contingency. This is the hardest to explain, but it's intended to provide reassurance to clients that a litigation matter is not a bottomless well of attorney fees. In the typical modified contingency fee, once a threshold number of hourly charges are met (for example, $5,000 in hourly fees), the client's total attorney fees are capped (for example, at $10,000). Expenses are not capped, but the law firm makes no profit on those and has no incentive to run them up. Finally, the firm is guaranteed 30% of the recovery or the fee cap, whichever is greater.