David B. Pastor Criminal Law Blog on Lawyers.com

Understanding Attorney Fees

Monday, October 19, 2009 by David B. Pastor

Different Attorney Fees

When you understand how retainer fees work when you hire an attorney, you are better able to control your own financial investment in legal help. There are several types of fee arrangements and it is your responsibility to understand what the agreement between you and the attorney you choose will be:

Hourly rates
Flat fees/rates
Retainers
Contingency fees

Retainers are a fairly common method of charging for a lawyer. Hourly rates are probably more common, because there is no real guarantee how long a legal case will take, but retainer arrangements work on many of the same concepts as an hourly rate.

A retainer fee is essentially a lump-sum amount an attorney charges based on how long the casework will take on your behalf. The retainer fee is usually the number of hours the attorney estimates times the hourly rate charged. The retainer does not cover the entire length of representation, though—if the time the attorney spends on the case is valued in excess of the money in the retainer amount, the client usually has to pay more money for the lawyer to resume working on the case.

In effect, a retainer is a trust amount that means the attorney will begin the case. If the case finishes out at less hours than the retainer amount, the attorney rarely returns the money.

A flat fee or flat rate is the best way to know up front exactly what your representation will cost. There is no guess-work involved and the fee for each phase of the case is specified up front so you can budget out your legal fees from the beginning of your relationship with your attorney.

Overall, though, if you communicate with your attorney clearly and keep tabs on your billing statements, you are likely to find that retainer fees are an economical way of paying your attorney to help you resolve your legal issue.

This information has been provided courtesy of Walnut Creek Attorney:
David Pastor
1280 Boulevard Way, Suite 212
Walnut Creek, CA 94595
Toll free: 1-866-737-4038

Posted at 13:23 PM

Topic: Criminal Law