Legal Fees : How Much Will It Cost?

How Do I Know What My Attorney Should Charge?

Legal Fees : How Much Will It Cost?

At the Bluestein Law Firm, we work with many clients who have limited or no prior experience working with an attorney. In our price focused economy, many people believe one of the first questions to ask when speaking with an attorney is “How much will it cost?” While knowing the expected cost certainly is important, there are much more important things that should be discussed before turning to the cost.

What Does Your Attorney Need to Know Before Quoting a Fee?

A good attorney needs to take time to learn about you, your matter and what you want to accomplish before determining how they can help you and what the legal fees should be. At the Bluestein Law Firm, we have found that every client and every matter is unique. Our goal is to bring value to our clients and help them improve their lives. Developing a good understanding of our client’s matters and their goals allows us to determine how we can best help our clients. With this information, we can then start to determine what type of fee will be involved.

Flat Fees vs. Hourly Fees

Attorneys charge fees in a variety of ways, but here at the Bluestein Law Firm our billing is generally done in one of two ways: Flat Fees or Hourly Fees.

Flat fees are a set amount we charge for the services we agree upon for your matter. They are determined based on the specific details of your matter and how we are going to help you and included both a time an value component. We are able to determine a Flat Fee based on our experience and knowledge of what will be involved in your case, but this can only be determined after we have had an opportunity to learn about your case. Our preference is to charge a Flat Fee when we can, so that having agreed upon the fee, we can then focus on helping you with your matter or opportunity.

Hourly fees, are fees that are charged solely based on time. Our hourly rates are based on the attorney or paralegal’s knowledge, experience, and their ability to get the work done in a thorough, efficient and timely manner. We find that hourly rates work best where the amount of work necessary is unclear often due to matters outside of our or the client’s control. This may include the likelihood of unforeseen actions by other parties or attorneys, or it may be due to there simply being too many unknown factors to determine how a particular matter will likely proceed. In these types of cases, we believe it is most fair to our clients to use an hourly rate. Clients often ask for estimates or cost ranges. Sometimes we are able to give a non-binding estimate of our anticipated time/fees; but this is dependent on the specific details of each matter.

When hiring an attorney, the question of the “Legal Fees : How Much Will It Cost?” is frequently the first question people ask, but usually one of the last ones the the Attorney should answer at an initial consult. It is important that both you and your attorney have a clear understanding of the case and the work to be done to help you achieve your goals.

If you have a legal matter you wish to discuss with the Bluestein Law Firm, please contact us  by email or phone at (720) 420-1777.

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