We’re always willing to give free initial consultations over the phone or in appropriate cases, in person. If it appears that there is a valid legal malpractice, over charging or other attorney conduct type of case, we will do everything in our power to accommodate the financial ability of a client.

Our formal relationship begins with a retainer agreement that sets out our fee arrangement and governs our relationship. For the most part, our fee arrangements for attorney conduct cases will fall into one of three categories.

The Hourly Fee Arrangement: This is the straightforward “bill by the hour” approach. There are legal malpractice cases in which this kind of fee arrangement makes a lot of sense, and there are cases in which this is really the only kind of fee structure that can be applied. We would be happy to provide you with our current hourly rates upon request.

Contingency Fee Arrangement: Under this arrangement, we get paid only if there is a recovery. Generally, our fee is a percentage of the amount recovered for the client. We usually apply a sliding scale percentage based on the complexity of the case, and how long we have to litigate before a recovery might be made. This sliding scale approach is generally fairer than one flat rate because it compensates us according to the amount of work that goes into the case, and provides an incentive for a client to settle a case earlier in the process.

The Hybrid Arrangement: The hybrid agreement is a combination of an hourly rate and contingency fee. Under this arrangement, we reduce our standard hourly rates and also reduce the contingency percentages. This often works out most equitably for both the client and us for a variety reasons, but principally because there’s a greater equality in the risk of litigating a case. This means that decisions about pursuing or settling the case are evaluated on the basis of the risk to both the attorney and client.

Variations On A Theme: In our years of practice we’ve worked with all types of fee arrangements, and we try not to have fees stand in the way of a worthwhile case. There are variants of the three major fee arrangements that might be appropriate under the circumstances of a case. We’re happy to discuss all aspects of this sometimes difficult and confusing area of the relationship.

Budgets and Estimates: We believe in them and we give them to the best of our ability. However, litigation is an evolving process, so we’re likely to be more reliable with our estimates (as well as our evaluation) the deeper we get into the case. So, what we try to do is give “rolling” estimates or budgets, based on what we know about the case at a given time. We pride ourselves on giving fair and reasonably accurate budgets, don’t “lowball” the costs and fees involved, and where appropriate are willing to “cap” our fees.