How Much Does A Lawyer Charge?
Lawyer's fees are determined by agreement of the lawyer and the person seeking legal advice or representation. There are several possible methods for determining lawyer's fees depending on the lawyer and the type of legal advice needed by the prospective client. Some lawyer's fees are of the flat fee variety based on a specific type of legal situation. Good examples are wills for individuals, articles of incorporation for businesses, and defense for a specific type of legal case such as a DUI. Flat fee as the term suggests means the lawyers fees are a flat fee of $X whether that's $200 for a simple will or $5,000 or more to defense in a DUI case. Many clients like the flat fee arrangement because they know in advance what their legal costs will be and there won't be any surprises down the road. In some cases, the flat fee may be time based. Lawyer's fees can also be time based. Most legal matters pertaining to business matters are time based. For example, the lawyer's feeds will be based on his or her actual time spent on a particular case multiplied by the hourly rate. When practical, the lawyer will have staff perform the work at a lower hourly rate which benefits the client. Another type of lawyer's fees is contingency fees in which the attorney will agree to a certain percentage of the damages awarded or money recovered in a trial or negotiation. Many accident and personal injury lawyers take cases on a contingency fee basis. These types of lawyer's fees can be advantageous to both parties. A client who is low on funds and wouldn't normally be able to afford legal representation in many cases can find an attorney who will see such a high probability of winning the case that he or she will agree to take on the case with no money down in exchange for a percentage of the proceeds. The contingency fee not only allows a vehicle for defense in situations were it would not normally be an option but it also provides the attorney with an excellent incentive to provide the best possible legal representation considering his or her compensation is tied to the outcome of the case. Sometimes lawyer's fees are based on statutory fees which are basically set by lawmakers. One example is Social Security Disability cases. In such cases, lawyers by law can only charge the lower of $4,000 or 25% of the recovery. One the one hand, not many lawyers would accept cases for less than that amount and on the other hand, the law provides a safety measure which prevents those on social security from being taken advantage of by unscrupulous lawyers. There is a basic overview of several types of lawyer's fees. |
