lawyers

A Lawyer should advise you, before any work begins, what the cost will be for his or her services and whether you will be responsible for other fees and charges. State ethics rules require a lawyer to charge reasonable fees. The American Bar Association (ABA) recommends that lawyers spell out their fees, ideally in writing, within a reasonable time after beginning to represent you. And some state bars require that lawyers put their fees in writing before they take a case. Your lawyer may charge you extra for copying documents, courier services, court filing fees, or research services. Be sure you understand what you will be charged for and how much.

Consider that the most expensive lawyer is not automatically the best one for you. Neither is a “bargain” rate always your most advantageous choice. Look for the best balance of experience and cost. You may want to ask your lawyer if a junior lawyer or paralegal can perform some of the work to lower your costs. You also may want to ask if there are tasks you could perform yourself to save time and money. For example, you might be able to copy, pick up or deliver certain documents.

A lawyer may charge you a flat fee for a particular service or offer alternative methods of payment (contingency or hourly rate). Each has benefits and risks. A personal injury lawyer will likely base his fee on a percentage of the amount of money that he recovers for you.

A Contingency fee is the most common arrangement in personal injury and property claims where you are trying to recover money damages from another party. If you lose and there is no recovery you pay no fee. However, you are still responsible for certain costs and expenses that the personal injury attorney may have incurred (court costs, filing fees, telephone charges, etc.). In many states you may not use a contingent fee for family law or criminal cases.

With a Fixed or Flat Fee, you pay a set cost for a specific service. For routine services such as real estate transactions, simple will drafting, etc, this is the common form of payment.

With an hourly rate, the cost is based on the time the lawyer spends working on your problem. These fees can range from a relatively modest amount to over $300 per hour. You will likely be required to pay a certain amount “up front”. This is known as a retainer and is usually based on the expected costs of the case.

You should discuss fee arrangements when you first visit a lawyer. After all, the cost is part of your decision to hire any particular attorney. Advertised fees (“simple divorce only $150″) are generally only a starting point. They may not include court costs and other expenses.

The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides in part that a person cannot “be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” Due process is an abstract term meaning nothing more nor less than what judges and lawmakers say it means.

The prosecution’s lawyer in a criminal court has to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This is the highest burden of proof the law can impose. A plaintiff in a civil case, on the other hand, only has to prove a defendant liable by a preponderance of the evidence.

Three standards of evidence commonly used in a court of law.

  • “Beyond a reasonable doubt” is the toughest. A lawyer will often be called to this standard in criminal cases, and means that, while one could always speculate about new evidence that might come to light that would lead to a different conclusion, or could invent some extraordinary set of circumstances that could explain away the evidence, nevertheless you conclude that on the basis of the available evidence, you must conclude the defendent is guilty.

    The logic behind this tough standard is that we want to be very careful not to punish an innocent person. It is surely a terrible thing if a guilty person gets off scot free. But it is even more terrible for an innocent person to go to jail for a crime he didn’t commit.

  • The easiest standard is “preponderance of evidence“. This means that one side is more convincing than the other. If the judge or jury believes that there is a 51% chance that the defendant is lying and a 49% chance that he is telling the truth, than under the preponderance of evidence test they would rule against him.

    This test is usually used in civil suits, where two parties are disputing over the terms of a contract or who is to blame for an accident. If you say that “Rob” owes you for a can of beans and “Rob” claims that he has already paid you, then an error either way means that somebody is out a can of beans. Thus the court should rule for whosever case sounds more convincing, without giving either side the benefit of the doubt.

  • Another standard sometimes required of a lawyer is “clear and convincing evidence“. This is stronger than “preponderance of evidence” but not as strong as “beyond a reasonable doubt”.

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