Fees

FEES AT ROBERT F. CROSKERY & ASSOCIATES CO., L.P.A.

Our fees are of three types:  flat, hourly, and contingency.  We charge flat fees on simple matters with known time investments, such as attorney letters, business formations, simple wills and legal papers.  Hourly fees are appropriate for matters with unknown time investments, such as defense litigation or general legal services.  Contingent fees may be charged when a client has a cause of action with the potential for recovering damages, such as serious personal injury or wrongful death.

We do not charge any initial consultation fee for personal injury, wrongful death, and plaintiff’s employment law consultations.

If you mention our web page when calling in, a significantly discounted initial referral fee of $25.00 for a half hour consultation is available for other matters.

To help you understand how we set our fees, read the following article (modified from a public service pamphlet to reflect current Ohio, Kentucky, and Florida Law) :

HOW LAWYERS SET THEIR FEES
Many persons fail to seek needed legal advice because they are uncertain about the cost of a lawyer's service. They try to save legal fees by doing their own legal work, or by depending on a non-lawyer for legal advice. Too often, these persons find out later that they are involved in a serious and expensive legal problem that could have been prevented had they seen an attorney first. As a result, they may end up spending days in court, with the increased costs involved, and lose many, many times what a lawyer's initial advice would have cost.

What will it cost? If you have a problem and feel that you need the advice of an attorney, don't hesitate to see one because you are uncertain about the cost. Instead, when you first see the attorney,  ask about the fee. The lawyer will want you to be satisfied with both the service and the charge. The attorney knows that if good service is given, and the charge is fair, you will return and will also refer other clients to the attorney. That is the way a lawyer builds a practice.

Types of fee arrangements. The three most common types of fee arrangements are:

1.Time billing;
2.Contingent fees;
3.Flat rate.

While there are many types of fee arrangements which are possible, most are one of these, or a combination of them.

With time billing, the client is charged for the amount of time the lawyer and staff spend on the client's problem. This is probably the most common fee arrangement.

Contingent fees depend on the outcome of the case: the attorney is paid a fee out of the proceeds collected on the client's behalf. This type of fee arrangement is most common in cases where the client has been injured, but is sometimes used in other cases. Attorneys are not allowed to have a contingent fee arrangement in most family law matters.

Flat rates are sometimes used in instances in which the client's problem is relatively well-defined, and the attorney can tell in advance how much time and effort is likely to be required. With a flat fee arrangement, the attorney agrees to perform a specific service for a specific fee. The client knows in advance how much the service will cost. Flat fee arrangements are most often used in uncontested divorces, incorporation of small businesses, simple wills, and simple bankruptcies. Where there is a significant amount of disagreement, or a complicated situation, it is usually not possible for the attorney or the client to know in advance how difficult the problem will be.

In any type of fee arrangement, it is common for the attorney to require advance payment of some fees and expenses. This is sometimes called a "retainer."

Factors that determine lawyers' fees. Legal matters differ widely. No two situations are exactly alike. A lawyer's fee will depend upon a variety of factors. The Rules of Professional Conduct, which govern the conduct of lawyers, provide guidelines to be considered in setting legal fees. Among these are:

1.The time and effort involved,
2.Unusualness of the case and the skill needed to conduct it,
3.Results obtained for the client,
4.Whether the matter is contingent on recovery,
5.Customary charges of other lawyers for similar services, and 6.Whether the client is a regular one.

The Rules of Professional Conduct also point out to lawyers that the legal profession is a branch of the administration of justice and not a mere money-making trade. With these points in mind, how does a lawyer set a fee? In actual practice the attorney will weigh these factors:

Time and Effort. Most lawyers keep accurate records of the time they and other lawyers and the office staff spend on your case. Different attorneys value their time at different rates because of variations in their experience, special knowledge, and skill. There is, however, a degree of uniformity based on what other lawyers in the community charge.

Ability, Experience, Reputation. Of course, the ability, experience, and reputation of the attorney you choose are going to have something to do with the fee you expect to pay. If your lawyer has built a reputation as an expert or a specialist in some particular field of law, the attorney may charge more than someone with less experience who is not so well known.

Results. The results obtained are a factor in setting a fair fee. Since no lawyer can guarantee results in a contested matter, an attorney will expect to be paid whether you win or lose, unless the case is taken on a contingent fee basis. This is generally done in cases involving employment discrimination, serious personal injury or wrongful death. Under this arrangement, the lawyer takes a percentage of the recovery, if the attorney wins. If the case is lost, the lawyer is paid nothing for the work done. Of course, if a lawyer can be sure of being paid for the work done, the charge to the client could be less than if the case is taken on a contingent basis. Charges for legal fees often cannot be set in advance because the time and effort, the amount involved, the difficulty of solving the problems, and many other factors all must be taken into consideration.

Regular Clients. Your lawyer will likely take into consideration whether you are a regular client. Just as some businesses do, your lawyer may set a somewhat lower fee if you are a regular client. This is another of the many good reasons why you may want to have a "family" lawyer.

EXPENSES
Costs and expenses commonly include process servers' fees, fees fixed by law or assessed by courts and other agencies, court reporters' fees, long distance telephone calls, messenger and other delivery fees, postage, fax, parking, and other travel expenses, photocopying and other reproduction costs, standard charges for necessary computer assisted legal research, and other similar items.

Other Considerations. As with any other professional service, an attorney must consider office expenses and overhead. An attorney's effort is supported by the efforts of a variety of others. The fee arrangement can include separate charges for secretarial, clerical and other assistance, or these services may be included in the fee charged by the attorney.

TYPES OF CASES
Accident, Injury, and Employment Cases. Lawyers are prohibited from instigating or financing litigation. However, to avoid the old English system of making the lawyer available only to the rich, lawyers in the United States are permitted to accept employment in the handling of claims where their compensation will be paid only from the recovery made in the case. If there is no recovery, the lawyer gets no fee. The client, in any event, must pay the court costs and certain other expenses, such as those for expert witnesses.

This fee arrangement, as previously mentioned, is called a "contingent fee." It is most commonly used in personal injury claims. Such fees range from 25% to 50%, depending on the nature and type of case involved. The percentage agreed upon usually depends on the probability and amount of recovery.

No lawyer is required to accept a case on a contingent basis. This is a matter of agreement in each case between the lawyer and the prospective client. This agreement should be in writing and should be made at the time the lawyer agrees to handle the case. Both the client and the lawyer should have copies of the contingent fee contract.

Wills and Estate Planning. A client may want a simple will or may require a more comprehensive program of estate planning involving insurance, investment, home and business ownership, and various other complicated details. In either case the lawyer must make inquiry into the nature of the client's assets, personal and family situation, and individual desires.

The amount of time that is required - and the lawyer's fee - is largely determined by the size of the estate and the complexity of the questions involved. In the simplest situation it would cost relatively little to have a will drawn by a lawyer. In other situations where the lawyer spends more time and effort working out a more complicated will or estate plan, the fee will be substantially higher. In either case, the benefits to be gained are well worth your investment.

Probating an Estate. When a person dies, with or without a will, who owns real estate or personal property, the estate may or may not have to be "probated." Maximum fees for the lawyer's service in these cases are set by law and are based on a fixed percentage of the amount involved.

A judge may allow additional fees in cases where extraordinary work and problems arise. 
  
Advice and Counsel . When a lawyer charges for "advice" it does not mean an off-hand personal opinion. A lawyer's advice is a conclusion, based on years of training and experience, reached only after gathering and analyzing the facts and after hours or days of research and study of the law. Such advice and counsel is usually charged for on an hourly basis.

Conclusion. It is important that you be comfortable in your relationship with your attorney. This means not only that you respect the attorney's competence and integrity, but that you understand and agree to the fee charged for the service. If you do not understand before a service is performed how the fee will be determined, be sure to ask for more explanation.

After a service has been performed, your attorney will want you to be satisfied with both the service performed and the fee. If you have any questions about the amount of your attorney's fee, contact the attorney and ask for an explanation.

The information in this page reflects Ohio, Kentucky, and Florida  law.  It is intended to help inform and not to advise. It is not intended to apply to any specific situation.

Lawyer Referral Services. If you do not know any attorneys, your local bar or state bar association may sponsor a lawyer referral service.  If you are located in Northern Kentucky, the Tampa Bay Area of Florida, or Greater Cincinnati, we will be happy to consult with you, or try to give you names of other local attorneys that may help in the area that you specify.  Just call us at (513) 232-5297 and we will try to help.  Or you can e-mail us by visiting our Contact Page.