Attorney’s Fees
EFFECTIVE, HONEST & AFFORDABLE
Member in Good Standing of the Virginia State Bar:
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Please be sure to check the specific page on this website that deals with your type of case. Often our legal fees are set forth on that page instead of below.
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LEGAL FEES AND OUR NORMAL HOURLY RATE
We do take into account the particular the financial and other needs of the client, the circumstances and the type of case that is involved. In other words we care and we are realistic. We want to help you if we can.
We are very upfront with what our fees will be and we charge each individual client on an individual basis. There are generally 3 types of fee agreements: (i) hourly fee; (ii) contingent fee; and (iii) flat fee. And the one we will use largely depends on the type of case it is and a whole myriad of other factors.
OUR BASIC BILLING POLICY:
Unless we otherwise agree in writing to some other fee arrangement or a different set of rules, the rules set forth on this page (see below) shall apply:
ATTORNEY’S FEES POLICY AND TERMS OF USE OF OUR SERVICES
Please check our “Special Legal Fee Rates” page to see if you qualify for one of those Special Rates, by clicking here:
Special Low and Affordable Legal Fees
Business owners and those having regular or recurring legal needs can check here about or special affordable rates for them:
Low Rates for Business and Regular Clients
If you qualify for either of the above please tell us, so that we can sign a special fee agreement. Absent such a written special fee agreement, it is assumed that you agree to pay our normal fees at the normal hourly rate which is set forth below.]
For real estate related legal fees click link below:
https://www.davidlentzlaw.com/real-estate-representation-attorneys-fees/
For wills, trusts, estates and administration legal fees click link below:
https://www.davidlentzlaw.com/wills-trusts-admin-fees/
WHY ARE LEGAL FEES WHAT THEY ARE:
If you want to see some of the reasons why legal fees are what they are, then please see the bottom of this page. Our rates actually compare quite favorably to that of other professionals (just see the article at the end of this page). Please know that:
We, as attorneys, desire to have a positive, trusting relationship with you (the Client) and all of our clients. As such, and in an attempt to avoid any misunderstanding, please carefully read the following.
Every legal matter or case is different, and we endeavor to tailor our legal fees to your particular needs. However, certain standard rules do apply unless we agree otherwise. Therefore, unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing by us in advance of the rendition of services, the following rules apply:
Preliminarily, all persons seeking and utilizing our services should assume that, after the initial 3 minute free consultation (which applies only to new client first consultations) unless we expressly agree otherwise in writing, that all legal services will be billed at:
our Normal Hourly Rate which is
$240 per hour
(for attorney time)
and $90 per hour (for paralegal time) and
$150 per hour (for investigator time).
And, regardless of whether we agree to represent you after the initial consultation, billing will start after the first 3 minutes of our initial consultation (said first 3 minutes of the initial consultation being sometimes referred to as the “free initial consultation”). If an initial consultation goes over this first 3 minute period then the minimum initial consultation fee is $75 regardless of the time spent by the attorney on the initial consultation; however for such longer lasting initial consultations (those going 20 minutes or more) the initial consultation fee could be higher if application of our normal hourly rate to the time actually spent giving the consultation justifies it.
SPECIAL RULE CASE ASSESSMENTS: Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything herein or below to the contrary, if we are asked to give an assessment of the likely outcome of a case we reserve the right to charge an additional initial assessmentt fee of $120 for our assessment. (This is in addition to the $75 minimum initial consultation fee mentioned above). Such assessments are never guarantees of results, they merely represent our best educated guess of what we think the outcome would be based upon our experience and what you/the client have told us about the case.
- When Representation Starts. We do not represent you and will not appear on your behalf in any court, meeting, business closing or other proceeding unless and until we first expressly agree to do so in writing. We must agree in writing to represent you before you can assume that we will represent you in any court proceeding or other transaction. ( If we agree to take your case, often our agreement to do so will come in the form of an immediate confirmatory email or fax, so please be sure to provide us with your email address and/or fax number.) Again, unless, otherwise agreed in writing we will not represent you unless any required Deposit is received before we make any court appearances or render any services on your behalf. Having said this, ethical rules of the Virginia State Bar makes any statements by you given to us in the course of an initial consultation confidential (see below) even if we ultimately do not represent you in court or otherwise.
- Attorney’s and Other Fees and Free 3 Minute Initial Consultation . As stated above, unless otherwise agreed in writing, ALL attorney time spent on your case (including consultations, research, drafting etc.) will be billed at a rate of $240 per HOUR for attorney time. This rate goes into effect, without further notice, after the first 3 minutes of the free initial consultation (said first 3 minutes of the initial consultation being sometimes referred to as the “free initial consultation”) (which is applicable only for the first contact with the prospective client either by phone, email or in person). Clients will also be charged for time spent by in-house paralegals ($90/hr) and investigators ($150/hr). In this regard, please note, that we do not take cases on a “contingent fee” basis (unless otherwise agreed in writing as noted above). Thus consultations after the initial free consultation noted above will be billed even for personal injury, products liability, worker’s compensation, and debt collection cases (unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing as noted above).
In addition, after the expiration of the first 3 minutes of the initial consultation, the minimum attorney fee for the initial consultation is $75 regardless of the attorney time expended. The above rules even apply to initial telephone consultations and consultations by email and other electronic means.
Phone Calls and Texts: Please note that that regardless of how much time is actually spent, we charge a minimum of 0.15 hour for each: (i) email sent or received pertaining to a client’s file; (ii) phone call sent or received pertaining to a client’s file; and (iii) each text message sent or received pertaining to the client’s file. In all instances if more time is actually spent by the Attorney more time is billed for emails, calls and texts. (The major reason for these minimums is that while we encourage clients to contact us with questions and information, all emails, calls and texts are to a certain extent disruptive and require the lawyer to “switch gears” from one client matter to another client. This also creates billing and other tracking issues that require time to address.)
[SPECIAL RULE IN FOR PLAINTIFF’s CONTINGENT FEE CASES (such as, auto accidents, defective products producing injury, worker’s compensation etc) : We have a special rule relating to the initial consultation in personal injury, products liability and injury related CIVIL cases (known by lawyers as “torts”) where the person seeking services is the injured party and monetary damages will be sought against a different person, organization or other entity (such as for reimbursement for medical bills, pain, suffering, mental anguish, loss of income, loss of earning potential) (In other words, this special rule applies to typical contingent fee automobile accidents, defective and hazardous products etc cases). If you are or will be the PLAINTIFF (the one filing the suit), then the entire initial consultation is free regardless of how long the initial consultation lasts. By way of explanation, “contingent fees” are attorney’s fees that the attorney collects only if he wins or settles your case and the attorney’s fee is taken out of the moneys paid to you by the opposing party (typically an insurance company). If you lose your case, then you owe no attorney’s fees to us under a “contingent fee” agreement.] In contingent fee cases, our legal fees are normally based on a certain percentage of any recovery that is awarded by the court (in its judgment) or paid by the defendant (or his/her insurer) to you for damages in the case. The amount we charge in such contingent fee cases is agreed upon by you and ourselves in writing prior to the commencement of representation immediately after the initial consultation. The percentage that we charge is based on the facts and circumstances of the case.
- Reservation and Processing Fee. In addition, after we’ve agreed to represent the client, an initial processing fee of $ 90 shall be charged and due for initial file set-up, processing and the agreement of the attorney not to represent an opposing party in any law suit or proceedings connected with the above referenced matter and/or to reserve the client’s future court, meeting and other date(s) on our calendar. No initial processing fee is charged in plaintiff’s contingent fee cases ( such as in a plaintiff’s personal injury or products liability case as described above) unless and until there is a “recovery” or judgment entered against the other party (the defendant) in the case.
- Costs and Expenses/ Travel/Copies. In all events, the Client is responsible to pay for any and all third party costs and expenses incurred by us during the court of representation. This includes but is not limited to any court filing fees charged by various courts, court reporter fees, third party copying costs, outside private investigators, expert witnesses and the like. For example, you, the Client, agree to pay all costs and expenses incurred by the Attorney in the scope of representing you including, but not limited to (if applicable): mileage ($0.35/mile), travel, airfare, hotels, photocopies, long distance telephone calls, parking, tolls, service of process fees, court reporters, transcription fees, private investigators, and printing costs. The Client is also responsible for copying costs if we make copies of documents and other items internally (in-house) at the rate of $0.15 per copy. Client may be required by the Attorney to pay such costs or to deposit into the Attorney’s escrow account, an amount equal to the reasonably expected amount of such costs and expenses in advance of rendition of services by third parties. Any payments made by the Client to us to pay for such costs will be deposited and withdrawn (for purposes of paying the appropriate party) from an escrow account in a manner required by the Virginia State Bar.
- FLAT FEES; DEPOSITS. (a) We do not take cases on a FLAT FEE basis unless, as stated above, we agree to do so in writing prior to our representation of a client. (By way of explanation: “Flat fees” are fees charged where a lawyer agrees to charge the client a certain fixed amount, (such as, for example a fee $9090 to handle a court case or a transaction), and the lawyer agrees to accept that fee regardless of how many hours it takes the attorney to complete the client’s case). We never handle cases on a purely FLAT FEE BASIS. The reason is that litigation (trial work) and some business matters are inherently uncertain in terms of estimating how long it will take to complete the case. And, sometimes the unexpected happens. However, we do have fee hybrid fee agreements that essentially provide many of the fee protections to the client that flat fees provide. Our hybrid fee agreements provide for a deposit and that deposit amount amount represents our good faith estimation of the total final fee client is likely to pay for the entire case (much like a flat fee would). If, however, our time spent on the case goes over the estimated stated amount (including a cushion of 3 or 4 hours of free time at no charge to you)) then our hourly rate is charged. Based on years of experience with our hybrid fee agreements, we have only had to charge the client an overage hourly fee in less than 3 percent of our cases. Please note however, that in criminal/traffic cases, many times the court will take a case under advisement or schedule a future “come back” time for the client to complete a program or a probationary assignment before it finally disposes of the case and ends the matter. If this occurs we do charge an additional fee for any such court mandated appearance.
(b) In this regard, and unless otherwise expressly agreed by us in writing in advance of legal services, any UPFRONT MONEY (sometimes erroneously referred to by laypersons as “retainers”) that we require to be paid in advance of our representation are to be deemed to be “DEPOSITS” (towards payment of our fees noted above) (THESE DEPOSITS ARE NOT FLAT FEES) and said DEPOSIT(S) shall not be deemed to be either a limitation on the amount of attorney’s fees and costs that are ultimately owed to us by the Client or an agreement by us to take your case (or other legal matter) on a flat fee basis. As we spend time on your case we will bill against this Deposit. If the Attorney time (or paralegal or in house investigator time) spent on the Client’s case or legal matter, based on the hourly rates set forth above, causes our fees to exceed the amount of the Deposit (after taking into account any “free cushion time” we’ve agreed to in writing), then the Client must pay us for the excess amounts based on the hourly rates set forth above. Any and all legal bills are immediately due and payable upon issuance. We reserve the right to require clients to restore the amount of funds held on Deposit by us to the amount of the initial Deposit requested by us at the beginning of our representation of a client at any time so that after we withdraw our legal fees and third party costs and expenses, the funds on Deposit with us remain at the amount of the initial Deposit we required at the beginning of the Client’s case or legal matter. Both the initial DEPOSIT and funds paid by the Client to restore the DEPOSIT to their initial amounts shall be deposited and withdrawn from any applicable escrow accounts and/or otherwise handled by us in a manner consistent with applicable ethical rules and regulations of the Virginia State Bar and/or the Virginia Supreme Court.
- Late Fees; Collection Costs and Expenses. Payment for our legal fees (in excess of any applicable Deposit required by us) shall be due and paid by the Client within 30 days of the rendition of any bill for same by us. Interest on any unpaid balance owed to us by the client hereunder shall accrue at the rate of 1.25 percent per month on the entire unpaid balance. In the event the attorney must sue to collect amounts due hereunder, Client agrees to pay all court and collection costs necessary to collect any excess fee including but not limited to attorney’s fees of 25 percent of the unpaid balance or $300.00, whichever is greater. .
- Bad Check Charge. The Attorney may charge, in addition to any fee or cost the attorney incurs by the charging bank or financial institution a bad check fee of $50 for all bad checks and all other dishonored attempts a deposits or payments for past or future attorneys fees, costs and/or expenses (including, but not limited to, escrow deposits for any of the foregoing (including deposits made to cover taxes, escrows, insurance and closing costs and expenses related to real estate transactions). The Attorney may also withdraw from representation of the Client if any excess fee is not paid within the aforesaid 30 day billing period. However, failure by the Attorney to withdraw for failure to pay or for any other permissible reason under this agreement shall not constitute a waiver of any rights hereunder.
- Withdrawal from Representation. The attorney may also withdraw for any reason from representation of the Client if withdrawal would be permissible under ethical rules of the Virginia State Bar, or if it is determined that the Client has misrepresented or failed to inform the Attorney of all material facts concerning the case.
- Duration of Representation; Appeals/ Retrials. Unless otherwise expressly in writing we do not agree to represent you with respect to appeals and retrials of matters for which we represented you. There is no duty on the part of the Attorney to represent the Client with respect to any retrials (in the same court as which the trial took place) or with respect to any appeals of any matter beyond the level of the Court in which we initially accept representation of the case. [For example, in cases in which we accept representation of the client in Circuit Court level then our representation only extends to the trial in the Circuit Court and not to the Court of Appeals or the Virginia Supreme Court; or, in the case of our representations initially undertaken at the General District (or Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court), our representation does not extend to the Circuit Court (ie, the level beyond those courts) once the trial is over in the General District Court/Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court .] In the event that the Attorney, in the Attorney’s discretion, undertakes such representation and no further agreement is executed, then the terms of this document shall remain in effect.
- Fines, Damages etc. Client shall bear the expense of the payment of all fines, assessments, penalties and damages that any court orders against Client. Unless otherwise expressly agreed by the Attorney in writing, the Attorney shall not have any obligation to pay for any such fines, assessment, penalties and damages from the Deposit or funds held by the Attorney in escrow.
- Client Duties and Cooperation. (a) The Client agrees to use best efforts to cooperate with the lawyer and to assist us in the preparation of his/her case or legal matter. The Client agrees to provide us with the names addresses and telephone numbers of witnesses. Although we will do so as well, Client agrees to use best efforts to assist us in the location of witnesses and documents and to investigate his or her own legal matter. Client agrees to use best efforts to keep the Attorney apprised of the Clients location, address and emergency telephone number at all times during the pendency of the case. Clients are strongly encouraged to advise us of his/her email address and to use email when corresponding with us. Unless the Attorney specifically requests otherwise, Clients shall keep the originals (the actual signed originals) of all documents in their possession and only provide the attorney with true copies thereof. ( If we ask you for copies we want only copies. We do not want the originals unless we expressly and specifically request originals.) Client agrees to keep copies of all documents that the Client provides to us and of all documents and items that we provide to him. Clients agree to keep copies of all documents related to their case (their own personal file) for a period of at least 6 years after the end of their case.
(b ) Client agrees to: (i) comply with the “Recommendations for Clients” set forth on this Website; and/or (ii) to watch (from start to finish) any and all videos posted on this website that are relevant to the subject matter of the client’s case.
12A. After Your Case is Closed; Post Representation Responsibility. It is exceedingly rare for post representation issues to arise after we cease performing services for you, but in the event this occurs the following rules apply: Client files and the documents and contents thereof (herein the “client files”) are confidential under the rules of Attorney-Client privilege and the contents of such client files shall not be disclosed to third parties without the Client’s express consent unless the Attorney is otherwise required to disclose the contents of the Client’s file (after the Attorney objects to such disclosure) by court order that holds that said files must be disclosed to a third party notwithstanding such Attorney-Client Privilege.
12B. VERY IMPORTANT: DISPOSAL OF CLIENT RECORDS and COPYING REQUESTS. We are responsible for maintaining client files only for as long as the minimum period required by applicable rules and regulations of the Virginia State Bar and/or other applicable law. Thereafter we may destroy all client files without any further responsibility to client. Should the client request or require copies of such files (either for the client or a third party) or if a Court should order such disclosure, or if for whatever legitimate reason, we are required to copy or reproduce such files then the following fees shall apply which shall be paid by client: a one-time processing fee of $50 plus attorney and paralegal time shall be billed at one-half of the normal rate(s) stated above if attorney time is necessary to retrieve and copy such file; secretary’s and every other member of the attorney’s staff shall also bill the client at the rate of $30 per hour; there shall also be a $0.50 per page charge for copies. We reserve the right to require a reasonable amount upfront to pay for this service.
12C. For purposes of this document, “client files” shall mean all documents, instruments and agreements pertaining to the client or client matters including any and all paper copies, originals, pictures, video tapes, audio recordings, plats, plans and specifications, including any information recorded or stored in any manner including in electronic, digital or other form (such as on tapes, discs, CDs, DVDs, records) and regardless of whether it is collected or stored on or off-site (that is, on the internet or in the “cloud”) and/or wherever and by whomever held regardless of the form of storage. Client files shall also include all tangible items held by the us that belong to and/or relate to Client matters, and this includes any and all trial exhibits etc. The only client files or portions thereof that will not be disposed of under this document (see 12B) shall be those with respect to which the Attorney has a legal obligation to retain or hold such client files under a written agreement or under applicable ethical rules of the Virginia Supreme Court and/or the Virginia State Bar or other applicable law.
- Requirements of the State Bar etc. Notwithstanding anything in this agreement or document to the contrary, should any provision of this agreement or document be determined to be contrary to the rules and regulations of the Virginia State Bar and/or the Virginia Supreme Court or applicable law, then such rules regulations or requirements shall control.
- Assistance and Association of Outside Legal Counsel. The Client also agrees to allow us to hire and associate outside legal counsel of our choosing to assist us in the handling of the Client’s case provided that we do so under terms and conditions that are not inconsistent with any and all hourly rates and other fees, terms and conditions quoted herein.
15. Electronic Communications. You agree that in connection with the legal services
we provide you in the Matter, we may correspond or transmit documentation with you and third
parties by email or other electronic means, unless you expressly request otherwise in writing. The
Firm endeavors to use an industry standard firewall containing virus protection and to take other
commercially reasonable precautions to prevent unauthorized access by third parties outside of the
Firm to electronically communicated and stored information. You understand that we cannot,
however, guarantee that the information will be free from unauthorized access by third parties or
that transmissions will be delivered or received in a timely manner, if at all, reliably, securely,
error free, virus free or free from interception. We also caution you that you should not
communicate with us through an email system belonging to another person or entity because doing
so may cause your communications with us not to be considered confidential and/or
privileged. For example, communications from an individual who is being represented personally
through the email system of the individual’s employer may not be protected by the attorney-client
privilege because a court may conclude that the individual has no reasonable expectation of
confidentiality in using his or her employer’s email system, particularly, which is often the case,
when the employer has reserved the right to review all email communications through its
system. An individual client should use a personal email system or account in communicating
with the Firm.
WHY ARE LEGAL FEES WHAT THEY ARE:
Handling your legal problems requires:
A skilled and trustworthy lawyer, support staff, an office and equipment (computers, copy machines, office supplies, scanners) and access to a service or a library where legal research can be performed. There are other miscellaneous operational expenses as well.
Three years of law school (which means nowadays that the lawyer may have spent and/or have student loans in many times well in excess of $100,000) which has been or needs to be paid;
Laws change every year. For this reason alone as well as the fact that laws are often vague and/or complex most of the time, even on “simple” cases at least some legal research has to be done. Then documents have to filed with courts and/or regulatory agencies etc or general correspondence, wills, deeds or contracts prepared negotiated and/or drafted. All of this usually consumes more time than the general public generally appreciates. Corresponding with the client and varies other parties also requires time.
HOW TO KEEP YOU LEGAL BILL AS LOW AS POSSIBLE
For the above reasons and others it is an unfortunate fact of life that legal fees can be substantial in many instances. We try to help clients keep their legal fees at affordable levels. And one of the best ways to do that is for the client to:
1. BE ORGANIZED, TIMELY AND ACCURATE IN PROVIDING INFORMATION AND HELP TO THE LAWYER
2. TO PAY ATTENTION TO THEIR OWN CASE and RESPOND PROMPTLY TO REQUESTS FROM THE LAWYER
3. TO PROMPTLY PAY LEGAL FEES.
PLEASE REMEMBER: WE DO NOT MAKE THE LAWS. WE JUST TRY TO HELP YOU COMPLY WITH THEM and/or TO GET YOU THE BEST RESULT IN YOUR CASE GIVEN WHAT THE LAW IS.
IF A COURT ORDERS YOU DO SOMETHING AND YOU DON’T, OR IF YOU DON’T LISTEN TO OUR ADVICE ON THE HANDLING OF YOUR BUSINESS MATTER OR LEGAL CASE TWO THINGS ALMOST ALWAYS HAPPEN: (1) YOU GET A BAD OR A WORSE THAN EXPECTED RESULT IN YOUR CASE; AND/OR (2) YOU ALMOST ALWAYS WILL PAY MORE (SOMETIMES A LOT MORE) IN LEGAL FEES BECAUSE WE WILL HAVE TO SPEND MORE TIME ON YOUR CASE THAN NECESSARY.
(If you think legal fees are high consider the following article at the bottom of this page about what other folks with far less education and fewer or no big time student loans get paid.)
Here’s a December 21, 2021 article from BuzzFeed “People Sharing Their Jobs and Exact Salaries”
Here’s the link for the article about the wages for other professions:
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/people-sharing-jobs-exact-salaries-094604287.html
HAVE QUESTIONS? NEED HELP?
JUST CALL us
804.300.9086 or 804.935.8549
Thank you and good luck on your case!
/s/ David D. Lentz, Attorney at Law