» Agreements for Legal Services

This is the amount of money that the law firm requires a client to pay to the law firm as a deposit (a down payment) toward the cost of the legal services to be provided. The deposit belongs to the client and is held in a trust account until the money is earned by the law firm. Any amount not used to pay for legal services and for costs paid on behalf of the client is refundable to the client. Some law firms may require retainer fees as high as $5,000 to $10,000. Our retainer fees generally are in the range of $500 to $2,500, because we trust our clients to pay their bills when due. We require some form of retainer fee in all matters except personal injury cases (see “What is a “contingent fee” agreement,” below).

In some cases, after an initial interview, we are able to determine the approximate number of hours and costs that will be involved in providing the legal services requested by the client. In such matters, instead of hourly billing for professional services, we can offer a fixed, or “flat,” fee to cover all services and costs in the retainer agreement. This fee is paid, in part or in full, upon signing the retainer agreement. Some examples of types of services that may be offered on a flat fee basis are step-parent adoptions, uncontested divorces, defending a serious traffic offense or other misdemeanors, drafting a simple will, power of attorney, advanced medical directive, or prenuptial agreement, or writing a letter on behalf of a client.

Professionals offer their time and expertise. In many situations, the hours and costs required to assist a client with a legal problem or need cannot be accurately determined or estimated during the initial interview. In those matters, the attorney’s time spent on the case is billed on an hourly basis, in increments of 1/10^th of an hour. Hourly fee retainer agreements usually are required in contested divorce cases, child custody cases, cases involving litigation, or potential litigation, in court or before administrative boards. The firm will require payment of a retainer fee at the outset of representing a client.

Most cases involving litigation involve only the payment of a court filing fee to start the case (usually less than $100) and a fee to serve the other party with the complaint (usually about $50 to $75). These fees are not required, of course, if the other party started the case and has already paid them.

Unlike many law firms, we do not charge for the paper used for in-office copying and the receipt of facsimile (fax) communications. We also do not separately charge clients for telephone, fax, and e-mail communications, other than for the time spent by the attorney or paralegal in handling such matters.

As to attorney travel time to and from court for appearances, our firm does not charge the attorney’s hourly-fee rate for this time. This applies whether the trip is to the Fairfax County Courthouse, where most of our cases are tried, or to those farther away in Stafford County or Loudoun County.

In complex cases involving hotly contested issues, clients may have to pay third parties, such as court reporters and expert witnesses, when early settlement is not possible. Examples of such issues in family law cases are the amount and duration of alimony, the custody of minor children, the division of property.