Know that, when hiring a lawyer, you will be charged for legal fees as well as legal costs.
Types of Legal Fees
Legal Fees depend on several factors, including: the amount of time spent on your problem; the novelty and difficulty your the case; the results obtained; the costs involved; and the lawyer’s ability, experience, and reputation. Other factors such as overheard expenses (office equipment, computeres, utilities, rent) may also affect the fee charged.
In addition to the Fee Agreements listed below, some other common fees a personal injury lawyer may charge include:
Consultation Fee: The lawyer may charge a fixed or hourly fee for your first meeting, when you both meet to determine whether or not the lawyer can best represent you. Be sure to check whether you will be charged for this initial meeting.
Referral Fee: A lawyer who refers you to another lawyer may ask for a portion of the total fee you pay for the case. Referral fees may be prohibited under applicable state codes of professional responsibility unless certain criteria are met. Just like other fees, the total fee must be reasonable and you must agree to the arrangement. Your state or local bar association may have additional information about the appropriateness of a referral fee.
Fee Agreements
Medical malpractice lawyers charge for their services in one of two ways: contingency fee basis or hourly/retained fee basis.
Contingency Fee Basis: The lawyer’s services won’t be free, but you will be required to pay the lawyer’s fee only when and if he recovers money for you. This fee is a percentage of the amount recovered from the defendant through judgment or settlement, and is usually 1/3 of the judgment after costs and fees are deducted. Be aware, however, that even if a lawyer takes your case on a contingency fee basis, you still have to pay costs, which can add up to several thousand dollars. Costs include court filing fees, court reporters’ fees, expert witnesses, and jury fees. The good news is that if you win your case, the judge will usually order your adversary to pay you back for these costs.
Hourly/Retained Fee Basis: Here, you will be required to pay the lawyer a pre-stated fee. This compensation is usually an hourly rate, which can range anywhere from $75 to $300+. If the lawyer’s offices uses paralegals, you should be charged less for their time — probably $35 to $75 per hour. By this payment plan, you will receive the entire judgment or settlement when and if your lawyer recovers money for you.
See Also
Information on how to create a Written Agreement with your lawyer.
Types of Legal Costs
There are many costs that may appear on your lawyer’s bill. Some lawyers will charge for these costs separately, while others will lump the expenses together as a separate item on your bill, and yet others will include some of these costs in their fee. Be sure to find out before hiring a lawyer whether these costs, if any, are included and whether they will be itemized on your bill.
Costs in addition to the lawyer’s time may include, but are not limited to:
- Travel Expenses
- Investigators
- Faxes (fascimiles)
- Secretarial and Staff Time
- Paralegal Time
- Messengers
- Process Servers (delivery of relevant legal documents)
- Telephone and Postage Charges
- Photocopying
- Experts, Consultants, and Witness Fees
- Filing Fees and Court Costs
- Deposition and Court Reporter Costs
- Computer or Research-related Costs
You should ask your lawyer for a written estimate of anticipated costs so that you can understand all the different costs you will have to pay. If you are concerned about costs building up, you have the option to request that any costs over a certain amount must be approved by you in advance. You may also be able to negotiate the amount charged for many of these costs in advance.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello,
I was just wondering: what is the difference between having a lawyer “on retainer” and paying a retainer fee?
Having a lawyer “on retainer” means that you regularly pay a small amount of money to ensure that a lawyer will always be available to you for any necessary legal service you might require.
A retainer fee, on the other hand, is some money paid to the lawyer in advance, before any legal work is done. It is essentially a down payment which will eventually be applied to the total fee billed.
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