CILINCAL LEGAL EDUCATION - ATTY.

CRUZ

RULES OF COURT: ENGAGEMENT OF A LAWYER

The initial consultation fee is what you can expect the attorney to bill you for your initial
consultation with him or her. While some lawyers offer free consultation, some charge initial
consultation fees. There are other attorneys who bill on their usual or reduced hourly rate. There is
no standard practice in the Philippines. Hence, the best thing to do before going for an initial
consultation is to call before making the appointment.
The fixed retainer fee is a predetermined fee paid on a lump sum, in advance of any legal work to
be performed. In corporations, for example, a general corporate retainer would include general
corporate services such as drafting minutes and board resolutions, secretarys certifications, ant
the like. There are also specialized retainer fee arrangements depending on the requirements of
the client. It can be expected of course, that in specialized retainer arrangements, the fixed
retainer fees are much higher.
Time-based charging is a fee arrangement where the lawyer bills based on his given hourly rate.
The client is billed based on the actual time spent by the lawyer. At the end of every billing cycle,
which in most cases is on a monthly basis, the lawyer sums up the actual time he or she spent for
your case, doing research, answering your calls, consultations, meetings, etc. The bill is computed
by adding up the total time spent by the attorney multiplied by the latters given hourly rate. Before
entering into such arrangements, you may want to ask the lawyer for an estimate of how much
time it would take to complete the activity.
The acceptance fee is the fee charged by the lawyer for merely accepting the case. The rationale
behind this is, once the lawyer agrees to act on behalf of a client, he generally loses the
opportunity to handle cases for the opposing party. Thus, a lawyers acceptance of a case would
mean that he is forgoing prospective work for the other party. The acceptance fee is normally
applied in litigation, and coupled with a per stage or per activity type of billing, where the lawyer
divides his professional fees depending on the stage of the proceedings.
In contingent fee arrangements, the lawyer gets paid only if the legal activity is successful. In most
cases, contingent fee arrangements are utilized by clients who cannot afford the services of a
lawyer. In such case, the lawyer gets to collect a certain portion of the property or money involved,
if he succeeds in the case or activity. Because of the risk of not getting paid at all, lawyers tend to
collect between 30%-50% of whatever the client gets.
In most cases, out-of-pocket expenses such as filing fees, travel expenses, printing etc., are
excluded from such arrangements. Since these expenses are incurred for the benefit of the client,
they are the clients responsibility. Of course, you can always ask for a cap on expenses.
The person looking for a lawyer must bear in mind that, generally, professional fees are subject to
negotiation. You can even try to negotiate terms of payment, if this is possible.

LAWYERS STANDARD FEES

Typical Fee Arrangements
In most civil cases, an attorney will be paid under one (or a combination) of the following fee
arrangements: hourly rate, flat fee, retainer, or contingency fee.
Hourly Rates - Hourly rates are the most common arrangement. Here, the attorney gets paid an
agreed-upon hourly rate for time spent working on all aspects of a client's case until it is resolved.
The hourly rate depends on each attorney's experience, operating expenses, and the location of
his or her practice. In rural areas and small towns, lawyers tend to charge less, and fees in the
range of $100 to $200 an hour for an experienced attorney are probably the norm. In major
metropolitan areas, the norm is probably closer to $200 to $400 an hour. Lawyers with expertise in
specialized areas may charge much more.
But consider that cheaper isn't necessarily better. A more expensive lawyer with a lot of experience
may be able to handle a complex problem more quickly. Also, an experienced attorney will be able
to better estimate how many lawyer hours a particular matter will take to resolve.
Flat Fee - Where a legal matter is simple and well-defined, lawyers typically charge a flat fee.
Examples of flat fee matters include wills, uncontested divorces and simple bankruptcy filings. If an
attorney suggests or has advertised a flat fee, be sure you understand exactly what that fee will
and will not cover. The flat fee might not include expenses such as filing fees.
Retainer - A retainer typically operates as an advance payment on an attorney's hourly rate to
handle a specific case. The lawyer puts the retainer in a special trust account and deducts from
that account the cost of services as they accrue. During the course of legal representation, clients
should review periodic billing statements reflecting amounts deducted from the retainer. (Learn
more about Attorney Responsibility for Client Funds. Most retainers are non-refundable unless
labeled "unreasonable" by a court. If you decide to drop a case that your lawyer has worked on
before the retainer has been exhausted, you might forfeit the remainder.
Contingency Fee - In certain types of cases, attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. That
means the attorney takes no fee from the client up-front, but gets a percentage (typically one-third)
of any settlement or money judgment obtained on behalf of the client. Contingency fee
arrangements are typical in: automobile accident lawsuits, medical malpractice claims, other
personal injury cases, and debt collection cases.
RETAINER CONTRACT
A contract between attorney and client specifying the nature of the services to be rendered and the
cost of the services.
Retainer also denotes the fee that the client pays when employing an attorney to act on her behalf.
When a client retains an attorney to act for her, the client thereby prevents the attorney from acting
for an adversary.
A right to retainer refers to the authority by which the executor or administrator of the estate of a
deceased person reserves out of the assets an amount sufficient to pay any debt due to him from
the deceased in priority to the other creditors whose debts are of equal degree.
A retainer agreement is a work for hire contract. It falls between a one-time contract and full-time
employment. ... It is common for a person seeking the services of a lawyer (attorney) to pay a
retainer ("retainer fee") to the lawyer, to see a case through to its conclusion.
What does it mean to be on a retainer?
When someone threatens to call their lawyer, he or she could very well have a lawyer "on retainer."
To have a lawyer on retainer means that the client pays a lawyer a small amount on a regular basis.
In return, the lawyer performs some legal services whenever the client needs them.
What is a retainer fee used for?
A retainer fee is an upfront cost incurred by an individual in order to pay for the services of a
consultant, freelancer, lawyer or something similar. A retainer fee is most commonly paid to
individual third-parties that have been engaged by the payer to perform a specific action on his
behalf.
What is a general retainer?
Definition. A fee that the client pays upfront to an attorney before the attorney has begun work for
the client. There are three types of retainers, each with a different purpose: (1) A general retainer,
which is a fee for a specific period of time rather than for a specific project.
What is a retainer for a law firm?
A retainer fee is something quite different. Sometimes a lawyer will ask the client to pay some
money in advance before any legal work will be done. This money is referred to as a retainer fee,
and is in effect a down payment that will be applied toward the total fee billed.
How does a retainer contract work?
With a retainer, you agree to be on call for a specified number of hours for an agreed-upon monthly
fee. Normally the retainer is paid in full, in advance or periodically on a payment schedule, such as
monthly, quarterly or annually, but is generally made in advance of your work.
What is a retainer agreement with a lawyer?
A retainer agreement is a work for hire contract. ... A retainer can be a single advance payment or
a recurring (e.g. monthly) payment. A retainer fee can be paid on a fixed, pre-negotiated rate or on
a variable hourly rate depending on the nature of retainer and also, the practice of the
lawyer/advocate being retained.