Legal Fees
Money spent on legal fees is some of the most important money you can spend, and serious legal issues can arise without warning. At Drew & McCallum, we strive to make high-quality legal counsel and advocacy affordable by utilizing a number of legal fees strategies. By aggressively utilizing technology in the firm and managing overhead, we are able to keep our internal costs lower than many other firms, and we pass those savings on to our clients through lower billing rates than other lawyers of comparable skill and experience.
We employ a variety of billing methods. In addition to traditional hourly billing with up-front retainers, Drew & McCallum also offers alternative billing practices such as fixed-fee, mixed fee, and contingency billing.
Hourly Billing
Hourly billing is the most traditional and often-utilized method of structuring legal fees. Under this arrangement, the clients pay their attorneys by the hour for the actual time spent working on that legal matter. Generally, in hourly billing arrangements, the firm requires an advance partial payment (or “retainer”) at the beginning of the representation. When a retainer is required for a particular matter, the amount of the retainer is set on a case by case basis and is determined, in part, by the scope of the work and complexity of the legal issues involved.
Fixed Fee Billing
Fixed fee billing may be appropriate for business clients seeking ongoing general counsel representation. By projecting our client’s quarterly or annual legal needs, we can develop strategies to work to spread the cost over time so that the client avoids significant intermittent bills.
Fixed fee billing may also be used in some litigation and transactional work when, by working closely with the client on their goals and the specific legal tasks requested, we can determine up-front the amount of legal work likely necessary to accomplish the client’s objectives and set a flat fee based upon the project’s projected work scope.
Mixed Fee Billing
Mixed fee billing is a combination of one or more of these billing methods, perhaps also incorporating other methods of legal billing.
The billing methods listed on this page are the most common, but only a few of the possible methods for structuring legal fees. When evaluating a new matter for a client, we look to the complexity of the facts and legal issues as well as to our client’s goals in making fee proposals.
Trust in your attorney and legal advocate must include the trust that you invested your hard-earned money wisely. We always remember that it’s our responsibility to zealously pursue our client’s goals while guarding our client’s financial investment in the legal process.
