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LEGAL NOTIONS Lawyers' Fees: Secrets and Truths The truth about how lawyers set their fees is that there is no uniform system in place amongst lawyers, and that in many instances the fee arrangement is negotiable. There are in fact many different types of fee agreements. Some of the most common are the hourly rate fee, the contingency fee, and the flat fee. There are many variations of each of these types of fee arrangements. Skills and levels of experience are often reflected in an attorney's hourly rate. Hourly rate arrangements can be set to bill a client for the different hourly rates for each of the lawyers, paralegals, and other personnel in the law firm who spend time on the client's matter. In a nutshell, the contingency fee arrangement is one whereby the attorney's compensation is based on a fixed percentage of any obtained recovery. However, often, in contingency fee agreements, there is a different fixed percentage applicable to each stage at which there might be a recovery. The usual set up is for a lower percentage during an early stage of obtained recovery (such as a recovery made before a lawsuit is filed), and higher percentage at a late stage (such as when a jury verdict has been made). A common flat fee arrangement is one whereby the full fee for a specified legal service is set at a specific dollar amount. The secret for getting your best possible lawyer's fee (in cases where there are no statutory, judicial, or other mandates that would or could bear on what is a permissible fee) is to not be afraid to propose and negotiate the terms of the fee agreement with the lawyer you would like to hire. << back to columns >> The information provided in this column is not intended to be legal advice but merely conveys general information related to the topic. © 2004 2005 Scott J. Preble, A Prof. Law Corp., Antioch, (925) 756-7111. www.PrebleLawFirm.com.
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The Preble Law Firm 3700 Delta Fair Blvd., Suite 210 Antioch, California, 94509-4074 Copyright © 2005-2007 The Preble Law Firm. All Rights Reserved. |
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