Fees and Billing Practices

Do not hesitate to ask us about fees when you meet with an attorney. We deal with these questions daily and we will gladly answer your questions and deal with your concerns. We try to structure our fees to make our services accessible to those who need legal services.

We generally charge in the following ways:

Contingent fees: We charge a percentage of the recovery, either by settlement or at trial. The most typical amount is 33 1/3% of the recovery. A typical example of a contingent fee case is an auto accident case.

Hourly fees: We charge on the basis of time spent on the case. A typical example of an hourly case is a divorce matter, or a real estate dispute.

Flat fees: We charge a flat fee for the service. Typical examples of flat fees are wills, deeds and powers of attorney.

Sometimes fees are a combination of the above, and sometimes we require a retainer or deposit of funds to be applied to fees.

The one thing to remember is that Attorney fees and expenses are different. Expenses are cash advances and other costs which we incur in handling a matter for a client. A typical example is a $200 deposit which we must pay to a Clerk of Court to file a suit. Other examples are the cost of medical records. Medical providers are allowed to charge a search fee, plus up to $1.00 per page for medical records. They usually require advance payment, before they will send the records. Expenses are sometimes paid in advance by our office, but clients may be asked to pay some expenses such as recording fees in a real estate matter.