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Legal fees - how lawyers charge for their services 

Lawyers are required to advertise truthfully. But if a lawyer advertises low cost legal services, you need to be sure to find out just what that includes. Oftentimes, filing fees and other expenses are not included in the advertised rate, just the lawyer's fees. Other attendant costs may not be reflected in the advertisement. Legal services aren't cheap. So ask. How much can you afford to spend? What are the usual fee arrangements? What other expenses are you expected to be responsible for such as court costs and filing fees? How do you keep track of fees and expenses? What about free or low-cost legal services? What if you're charged with a crime but don't have the money for a lawyer? 

Most lawyers will have several different payment arrangements, often depending on the type of case and how they can expect you to pay. There are hourly rates, flat fees, retainers, retainers plus hourly fees and contingent fees.

Hourly Fees 

An hourly arrangement provides that the lawyer gets paid a certain hourly rate for the hours spent working on a client's case or issue until it's completed. The amount of the hourly rate usually depends on the lawyer's experience, their operating expenses, location, and overall success. A complex issue being handled by a more experienced lawyer who is more expensive per hour might cost less because she or he can handle the problem more quickly. So cheaper is not always better. More experienced lawyers can usually give you a more accurate estimate of how much your case or issue will cost as well. 

Flat Fee Arrangements 

If an issue or case is fairly well defined and not very complex, lawyers often charge a flat fee. Examples of this would be wills, reviewing a contract for purchase of realty, bankruptcy, an uncontested divorce, and many others. Again, if an advertisement indicates the lawyer charges a flat fee for your type of case, make sure to ask what other expenses might be included. 

Retainer Fees 

A retainer is a fee charged in advance of any work, and is an advance on the hourly rate for a specific issue or case. This goes into a lawyer's trust account and the lawyer then deducts his or her expenses and the cost of services as they add up. As your case is being represented, you should receive and review the periodic billing statements for the amounts that have been taken out of the retainer. Retainers are usually not refundable and if you decide to drop your case or your lawyer before the total amount of the retainer is gone, you may relinquish the remainder. 

Contingency Fees 

In other cases, lawyers oftentimes work on contingency. That is, as the client, you pay no fee to the lawyer for representation, but agree to give a percentage of the verdict or settlement (usually one third) to the lawyer if any monies are collected. Most plaintiff's lawyers work on contingent fee basis, usually in such cases as personal injury, auto and accident cases, medical malpractice, environmental cases, railroad crossing cases, and debt collection cases, to name a few. Courts set a maximum limit on how much this contingent fee can be, but lesser amounts can occasionally be negotiated. It's important to remember that in these cases, the lawyer sustains the entire up front costs such as their time and the time of other staff who work on the case, with no assurance that their investment will pay off. And when they win a judgment or settlement for you, the contingent fee percentage must pay for the entire up front overhead as well as for their time. Some cases are not allowed by law to be handled on a contingency fee basis, so be sure to ask before assuming anything. 

Written Fee Arrangements 

Ask for a fee agreement in writing. If a lawyer doesn't want to provide this for you, don't hire that lawyer. Also ask your lawyer to include a provision for periodic, itemized billing in the fee agreement. This should list and describe all charges so that you can review them, understand them, and compare them to your fee agreement. 

You might need to consider a ceiling on fees and expenses, and even include that in your fee arrangement. You might want to also require your lawyer to get your approval before going beyond the limit set. If you're case is only worth $5000, you don't want to spend $4,000 in fees. 

If you are poor and can't afford and attorney to defend you against the charge of a serious crime, you might be eligible to have an attorney appointed to your case. The state and federal governments provide for public defenders to assist the indigent in their cases. They are paid by the government and are often very experienced with many years of having defended criminal cases. Just because they're paid by the government doesn't mean you'll have any less competent or dedicated lawyers. And oftentimes, they're far better at it that many of their private practice counterparts. Some lawyers also offer their services pro bono, that is, without charge.