How much are typical attorney fees?
This is definitely one of the questions which you will want answered when interviewing attorneys to handle your legal matter. Each case has a unique set of facts, and therefore the fee for each case may also be different. A good place to start, is by asking your attorney what type of fee they will be charging. Attorney fees generally fall into one of the following categories.
- Contingency fee
- Flat Fee
- Hourly Fee
- Hybrid Fee
Contingency Fee
With this type of arrangement, the attorney’s fee is “contingent” upon the attorney achieving a positive result for the client. The attorney will only earn a fee if they are able to achieve a settlement or judgment for the client. They will then receive an percentage of the total award, which has been specified in the client agreement. You can see many attorneys advertise this type of arrangement on TV with the tag line “We don’t get paid until you do.”
Flat Fee
An attorney – client agreement which specifies a “flat fee”, is one where the attorney agrees to perform a service for a specific amount regardless of the outcome. For example, many divorce attorneys will charge their clients a flat fee for handling the whole case, whether it takes months or years to complete
Hourly Fee
The terms of an hourly fee agreement will set forth a specific hourly rate which the attorney will charge for work actually completed. Many corporate and business attorneys use this fee structure.
Split Fee / Hybrid Agreement
In certain instances, both the client and the attorney may want engage in a split fee arrangement, where the attorney may charge one type of fee for part of the work and another for a different section of the work. For example, it may make sens for an attorney to work under a contingency fee agreement for the initial stage of a personal injury case, then charge an hourly fee if the case proceeds to the appeal stage.
As mentioned above, the most important factor in any attorney – client arrangement, is that both parties fully understand what is expected of them prior to the beginning of any work on the case minimizing the chance for any misunderstanding down the line.
For more information, please feel free to visit our Cleveland Attorney website at: www.HarrySBernsteinLaw.com
