How Lawyers Charge

Standard payment arrangements an attorney may suggest include hourly rates, flat fees, retainers or contingent fees.

Hourly rates are the most common arrangement. Here, the attorney gets paid an agreed-upon hourly rate for the hours he or she works on a client's case or matter until it's resolved.

Many lawyers are willing to charge competitive flat fees for certain types of legal work, some of which are listed below.

A retainer arrangement is usually a fee paid up front before legal representation commences.

A contingency fee is an arrangement where a lawyer is paid a portion of any recovery on a legal matter that he or she realizes for the benefit of the client. Contingency fees are usually, but not always, calculated as a percentage of the recovery. In most contingency fee arrangements, the client is not obligated to pay his or her lawyer unless there is a recovery.

Sometimes, lawyers and clients agree to arrangements that may blend one or more of these fee arrangements. For example, lawyers will sometimes be paid at a reduced hourly rate with the understanding that an additional contingency fee will be paid on any recovery.
Factors Impacting Lawyers' Fees

The fees for lawyers' services are based on many factors, including:

* Time & Effort - Lawyers charge both for time they work on a case and the amount of effort the case requires
* Geographical Location - Lawyers in urban and major metropolitan areas tend to charge a lot more than lawyers in rural areas or small towns
* Outcome - On occasion, as in contingent fee matters, the fee may depend on the outcome of the case and the risk of no recovery
* Advice - Legal opinion following research and case review
* Difficulty of Case - The fee may be higher if the case is difficult or time consuming, or if there is a risk of no recovery
* Experience - A more experienced lawyer is going to charge more
* Prominence of Lawyer - If the lawyer is well known and experienced in a particular area of law, the lawyer's rates are usually higher than those of a lawyer who is not as prominent
* Overhead - The costs associated with the lawyer's secretary, copies, books, legal research, and other items
* Preferred Client Discount - Loyalty counts when it comes to working with a lawyer. So a lawyer will sometimes discount services if the client frequently uses his or her services.
(source:lawyers.com)