1. Customized Price.

I work with each client to carefully determine the options available, and the costs and benefits of each course, and works with the client to develop a clear mission. Once the mission is developed, the price is developed in careful consolation with the client, to make sure the price fits the client’s mission, the value to the client, and the resources necessary to complete the project successfully.

 

When proposing a flat fee billing contract, I will forecast and budget the costs of litigation and legal services into a flat fee overall depending on the nature and complexity of your case as well as the current disposition of the parties’ relations (i.e., reasonable and amenable, or hotly disputed). Generally, flat fee billing is determined based on the stage of your case:

Family Matters:  Mediation, Trial and/or Post Judgment.

Protection Matters:  Trial.

Criminal Defense:  Dispositional Conference, Motion Hearing, Jury Selection and/or Trial.

Estate Planning:  Will, Simple Trust, Advanced Medical Directive and/or Power of Attorney.

Business Formation:  Corporation, S-Corporation or Limited Liability Company.

2. Clients are Not Misled.

My experience has proven that neither clients nor attorneys fully grasp what the final cost of a case might be when the hourly billing method is used. Thus, even though an attorney might warn a client that the cost is unpredictable, the client is misled into thinking the cost is manageable because the initial retainer is often low compared to the final cost of the case. For example, attorneys charging under the hourly billing method might ask for a retainer of $3,500 but the total cost of the case when it is finished could be more than ten times that amount. Each hourly-based bill the client receives can become somewhat of a shock or a surprise. With value pricing the charges to the client are clear. This gives clients the opportunity to better assess at the outset if the matter is worth the resources that will have to be applied.

3. Goal Orientation.

Prices are customized with results in mind, not time and procedures. These prices, along with the “caps” create strong incentive for me to act with a clear mission in mind and to get results expeditiously and efficiently.

4. The Cap.

I place a cap on the total amount of charges under the contract. The client will never receive a bill for services which is unexpected or beyond the amount set forth in the contract.  A new contract extension will be necessary when the contemplated stage is completed if the matter is not yet fully resolved.