For every engagement, our firm endeavors to ensure our fee structure is fair and clear for our client. While the financial cost of high quality legal representation is never cheap, we know you deserve predictability and value when you have a legal expense. We strive for that in every engagement. Our goal is to provide real value to our clients, not just earn a fee.
Our law practice is not built upon a single, inflexible method of determining fees. While hourly fee arrangements are often an appropriate fee structure, for many engagements there are other options that may facilitate our ability to provide value to a client or otherwise fit the client’s particular needs. We will explore with you what fee arrangement will best suit your immediate and long-term financial needs and objectives in light of the specific legal work you request. Our goal is a fee structure that provides value and predictability for you.
The following are typical fee arrangements:
Hourly
Because no two transactions or lawsuits are the same, the most typical arrangement will be based on hourly fees. For a standard hourly fee arrangement, we keep track of legal time expended pursing the client’s objectives. We do not spend time mindlessly. We produce efficient and effective legal work. We carefully review all professional time recorded and, if we determine time was expended in a manner that was unnecessary or inadvertently disproportionate, we reduce our time accordingly in preparing the bill. In limited circumstances for certain matters, it makes sense for us to use a paralegal or associate to perform certain legal tasks to reduce costs for our client. Standard hourly rates for a paralegal, associate or contract attorney will vary according to the experience level of the professional. In all hourly fee engagements, our firm will request a reasonable retainer or other assurance of payment.
General Counsel Services
We offer a unique opportunity for your medical practice or healthcare business to obtain General Counsel Services. Our healthcare law firm provides General Counsel Services in several different packages that set a number of hours to be used over the course of a year at a substantially reduced hourly rate, paid for in a way that best fits your budget and needs. We become your General Counsel, available when you need legal counsel, 24/7. Our package options begin at $750 per month. Contact us for a list of our General Counsel package options.
Contingency Fee
In litigation engagements where our client is a plaintiff seeking a recovery and our assessment is that the case has legal merit and a strong chance for a financial recovery, our firm may agree to provide legal services on a “contingent” fee basis. In this arrangement, our attorney’s fee is contingent upon a recovery in the case according to terms stated in our engagement letter. If a recovery is obtained, our fee is equal to an agreed percentage of the recovery, typically in the range of 30% to 45% depending upon various factors we will review with the client. Our goal is always to determine a fair method for determining fees, compliant with all State Bar rules and considerations.
Flat Fee
A flat fee is a fixed sum paid for a fairly specific legal task that is often a one-time event (such as closing a transaction) or a recurring type of legal work limited in scope (such as providing ongoing general counsel services to a business for a fixed monthly fee). Many clients prefer a flat fee because it does not vary based upon the number of hours of professional services expended (within an agreed range of hours) and therefore provides strong predictability of the legal expense.
Blended Fee
In certain types of litigation or transactions, we may offer a “blended” fee that consists of more than one of the above fee types. The purpose of a blended fee arrangement is to limit the total out-of-pocket expense to a client. For example, in some circumstances we will consider a reduced hourly rate and, in consideration for our agreement to reduce our hourly fees, our firm will receive an agreed percentage of any recovery obtained on a contingent fee basis. As with the above fee arrangements, we are glad to review whether a blended fee arrangement may suit a client’s needs and, if so, on what specific terms.
Retainers
For most engagements, our firm requires an advanced retainer or other assurance of payment.
Payment Methods
We accept checks, cash, and online payments.
To schedule an evaluation you may email us at info@hamillittle.com or contact us at the office nearest you
