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Rates and Retainers
The person who first said that happiness equals reality divided by expectation knew what they were talking about. I try to make sure that my clients know what to expect in terms of my fees and costs. Few things make clients more unhappy than getting hit with an unexpectedly high bill. To protect against an "expectation disconnect" I provide my clients with a written fee agreement.
My standard hourly rate is $300.00 per hour. For most types of litigation cases, I require a retainer of $3,000.00. Some legal matters will be less. If costs are anticipated, an additional cost retainer is necessary.
I charge $250.00 for an initial office consultation, which may go as long as 90 minutes. Though this is less than my regular hourly rate, I understand that in an initial meeting, there may be a certain amount of "get acquainted" time that doesn't directly benefit the client. It's more important to me that a potential client is comfortable with me as their attorney than it is to collect for each minute of my time. I also understand that in these tough economic times, many people don't have the extra cash or credit to cover a retainer in one payment. In some circumstances, I will work out a payment plan toward a retainer.
I accept all major credit cards, and PayPal.
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