Billing Policies

Our goal is to make sure that every client bill we send out is fair and reasonable, and easy to understand. One way that we try to achieve this is to provide you with a written explanation of how we charge for our services.

General Procedures

We send out bills within three business days after the end of every month. Bills on fixed fee matters are prepared at such time as the work is substantially completed, or more often if that is provided for in the fee agreement.

We do not have a billing department. All time entries in the billing system are made directly by the person who did the work. Every bill is prepared by the senior assistant assigned to the file and personally reviewed by the attorney. If it isn’t right, the buck stops on the attorney’s desk.

The process of preparing and reviewing the bills allows us to review where we stand on each file, what remains to be done and whether the time we are spending on the work makes sense in terms of our fee agreement with the client. At the end of each billing cycle we prepare a list of follow-up items on uncompleted work.

Timely billing also allows our clients to do a meaningful review of our charges – this is very difficult if not impossible if our charges are six months or a year old.

Wherever possible we will attempt to quote either a fixed fee or a fee budget for our work, as opposed to charging for our services on a strict time basis. We do this because (1) clients usually prefer to know how much the work will cost them in advance, and (2) it gives us an incentive to use our time as efficiently as possible.

Time Charges

Where we bill on a time basis, we will submit a bill at the end of each month for services rendered during that month. Our current hourly rates are $295 to $350 per hour for attorney time and $50 to $120 per hour for legal assistants. The exact rates charged will be discussed with you in advance and will depend on the kind of work, the person assigned to it and the market rate for that type of work.

We review our rates once a year and change them if appropriate to meet current market conditions. You will receive notice of any change in our billing rates.

Certain minimum time charges apply to telephone calls (.2 hour); letters (.3 hour); office conferences (.3 hour) and court appearances (2 hours). The minimum billing unit is one-tenth of an hour (.1 hour). Travel time is billed at the same rates as other time unless otherwise agreed with you.

We review all time-based bills to be sure that the total amount of the bill makes sense in terms of what we have done for you. If it doesn’t, we will adjust the charges. In most cases, we will set a budget for the work you have asked us to do which reflects the value of the work as agreed with you and which serves as a benchmark for our review.

Fixed Fees

In certain matters we will charge a flat fee in lieu of time charges. Examples of such matters include formation of a corporation or preparation of a basic estate plan. Fixed fees will be billed at the time the work is completed or at such other time or times as are set forth in your fee agreement.

Probate Matters

In probate matters the fee charged will be generally be the statutory fee applicable to the estate, plus fees for extraordinary services where applicable. Probate fees are not billed until they are approved by the court, generally at the end of the proceeding.

Trust Administration Matters

Fees charged for termination of a living trust upon the death of the settlor may be quoted on a fixed or budgeted fee basis. The amount of the quote will depend on the size and the complexity of the estate. The quote will be less than the statutory probate fee in most cases and may be one-third of the statutory fee or less on large estates.

Expenses

Expenses we incur on your behalf will be charged to you at our cost. We may ask for deposits for significant items such as incorporation costs and IRS ruling fees. Secretarial time and general overhead expenses, including small items such as photocopies and telephone calls are not charged as expenses since they are included in our hourly rates.

In order to insure the quality and timeliness of our services, we subscribe to various computer-based research services. Our costs for any computer research time on your account will be billed at such time as we receive a statement from the vendor, typically from 30 to 60 days after the work is performed.

Retainers

A retainer will ordinarily be required at the initial consultation on each new matter. The amount of the retainer will depend upon the type of matter, the extent to which the representation will prevent us from accepting other engagements, the expected billings, the length of the previous relationship with you, and other relevant factors.

We will apply the retainer against charges for fees as incurred. For example, if the retainer is $1,000 and time charges for the first month are $950, the first statement will show itemized charges of $950, a credit for the retainer, and a net credit balance of $50 (no payment due). The $50 will appear on the statement for the following month and will be applied against time charges for that month.

In the event that representation is completed or discontinued for any reason, any unused balance of the retainer will be refunded.

Late Charges

Statements are due upon presentation. There is a late payment charge of 1.5 percent per month (18 percent per annum) on amounts which are more than 30 days past due.

Inquiries

We encourage clients to contact us about any bill which is unclear or which seems unfair in any respect. There is never a charge for billing inquiries or for time spent resolving those inquiries.

Beyond Value Billing discusses why flat-fee billing makes sense for lawyers and their clients and why small, specialized offices may provide better client service than larger ones. This article was published in Business Law Today, a publication of the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association (January/February 1998). Read the document.