Consultation Fees
Criminal Defense and Family Law
We charge a consultation fee for our time for criminal defense and family law matters for several reasons:
1. 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
2. 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
You may also check out our free criminal defense intake form here
3. We have to 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
4. Our consultation fee is slightly lower than our regular hourly rate
Injury Cases
We do not charge consultation fees or 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.
Client Billing
Family Law & Criminal Defense
We bill for all hourly matters twice a month, on the 1st and 15th of each month. You will receive an email statement showing the details of your case’s time and expenses and all payments you have previously made. Our twice-monthly billing is designed to keep you updated on our work and help you manage your budget for legal representation. No one else offers this level of billing detail and transparency.
Our money retainers are called “Evergreen” retainers. This means we ask the client to keep a designated amount in trust at all times during our representation. For example, if your retainer is $10,000, we ask you to maintain that amount with us. If your billing statement shows that you have $2,500 in trust, this would mean that your billing statement would include a requested payment of $7,500, due within 10 days, to bring your account back up to $3,000. This ensures that we have funds to devote time and resources to your matter at all times. After our representation, you are entitled to a refund of any remaining non-billed funds.
It is illegal for an attorney to work on a family law case on a “contingency fee” basis. In other words, a lawyer cannot work on a divorce or child custody matter on the promise of payment if a certain outcome is obtained. There is a disconnect between payment for services and the result or outcome of any specific matter, both legally and practically. No attorney who knows what they are doing will ever guarantee any outcome, because the nature of our system makes it impossible for anyone to accurately predict results. We have a case management system specifically designed to be transparent so that our clients see the complete details associated with our time and services. Our family law and criminal defense fee agreements and expectations for payment are not at all based on or connected to any particular result.
Injury Cases
If we represent you in seeking compensation for an injury, you will not receive a bill. At the end of your case, you will be provided with a complete statement of time and costs, showing our expenses, attorney fees, and total settlement.