How We Bill
Consultation Fees
We charge a consultation fee for our time for criminal defense and family law matters for several reasons:
Our consultations are designed to help you develop a plan for resolution. This means we spend the time in consultation meaningfully talking to you about you and your situation. We work in a consultation meeting much the same way as if you had already hired us and are already our client. We want the consultation to have value for you. It is more than just an introductory meeting
We have a sophisticated intake pathway for family law matters, powered by artificial intelligence, to help us give you a meaningful consultation. You can check it out for free by clicking here
Generally, we expect new leads to have completed the intake prior to our meeting. The intake gives us the little time-consuming details that any lawyer would need, freeing us to discuss your situation, what matters to you, the outcome you are seeking, and how we may assist you with your legal matter
We must charge for our time in consultation to compensate us for the possibility that some people meet with us only to conflict us from representing their partner or ex-partner. Many individuals recognize our skill and what it would mean if their spouse or former partner were represented by us, so they will seek a meeting with us in order to conflict us from representing their ex. We charge a consultation fee in part to offset for the opportunity cost associated with this type of activity
Our consultation fee is slightly lower than our regular hourly rate
Family Law & Criminal Defense
The law requires us to bill by the hour except for our work on injury cases. Our fee arrangement is called an "Evergreen" retainer, meaning that our clients maintain a pre-established amount in trust with us throughout our representation.
An Evergreen retainer is a type of fee arrangement between a lawyer and a client where the client pre-pays a certain amount of money into a trust account. This account is then used to cover the costs of legal services as they are rendered.
Unlike a traditional retainer where the initial payment is fixed, an Evergreen retainer requires the client to replenish the account whenever the balance falls below a predetermined minimum. This ensures that there are always sufficient funds to cover legal fees. As the lawyer provides legal services, they bill against the retainer. The fees are deducted from the trust account, and the client is notified of any remaining balance.
Evergreen retainers are more flexible than traditional retainers, as they allow for adjustments to the retainer amount as the case progresses. An Evergreen retainer provides both the lawyer and the client with a more predictable and efficient way to handle legal fees.
For example, if the retainer is $20,000, the client agrees to maintain that amount with us. If a billing statement shows that the client has $15,000 in trust, this would mean that the billing statement would include a requested payment of $5,000, due within 10 days, to bring the account back up to $20,000. This ensures that we have funds to devote time and resources to the matter at all times. At the conclusion of our representation, the client is entitled to a refund of any non-billed funds remaining in trust.
For all hourly matters, we bill twice a month, on the 1st and 15th of each month. You will receive a statement by email showing the details of all time and expenses of your case and all payments you have previously made. Our twice-monthly billing is designed to keep you updated on our work for you and to help you manage your budget for legal representation. No one else offers this level of billing detail and transparency.
Injury Cases
We do not charge consultation fees and we do not bill you for our time or expenses on injury cases. We only get paid if you get paid. This is called a contingency fee. If we do not obtain a settlement or a verdict, then you will not owe anything to us.
