The subject of fees has been touched on earlier but as it is so important it necessitates a closer look.
The subject of fees can become a difficult issue if there is a lack of clarity and the client ends up with a legal bill that takes them by surprise. In today’s economic climate, solicitors want to ensure they get paid for their work so will broach the subject themselves at the initial meeting.
The solicitor charges for costs incurred by filing official forms, for example issuing summons and affidavits, but their main fee is for their time, i.e. their expertise.
Some legal services provided by the solicitor may have a standard charge rate, such as for wills or divorce, with a rider for complex matters; or you may agree a fixed rate for the work to be done. Here the solicitor will know from past experience how long the matter will take and can set a fixed fee.
Larger firms will charge by an hourly rate. For firms doing this you need to know the structure of how this works. For example, some firms may charge by the hour with fee time broken into units of four quarters. Here, if a solicitor is speaking to the client for five minutes or fifteen minutes it is billed as one-quarter of the hourly rate. Alternatively, they may bill just the amount of time the conversation actually was, so five minutes would be billed as one-twelfth of the hourly rate. This is information you need to ascertain from the outset.
Hourly rates will differ significantly among law firms and there will be a difference in rates between the larger Dublin firms and provincial firms. Within the firms’ rates, they will differ too between partners and junior solicitors. When discussing fees, find out whether additional solicitors will be working on your case and their rates. Check too if solicitors’ apprentices will be involved and whether you will be charged for their time and at what rate. Most law firm websites will not give information on their fees so the only way of learning this is to ask questions.
In additional to the above, there are the extra costs known as ‘outlay’. This is where you will be billed for photocopying, couriers, phone calls, stamps, etc. You need to ask what the firm’s policy on this is. There is, I believe, a case to be made that such outlay should be part of the firm’s overhead and the client not be billed for them. Take for instance a situation where a solicitor has an hour-long telephone conversation with the client or on the business of the client with a third party, for which the client will be billed an hour’s fee time. But will the client also be charged for the price of the phone call?
As mentioned in Chapter 4, you should give the solicitor the papers on the legal matter you need their assistance on in good order so as to minimise the cost. Equally, you should only phone or communicate with the solicitor when you have something important to discuss. Prior to any such calls make out a list of the matters to be covered. A disorganised client who sends in bits of information and rings up their solicitor on minor matters will chalk up much bigger fees than they need to. The solicitor cannot be blamed for this. Most good solicitors are busy and they too do not want to be wasting their time on unnecessary phone calls. So use your solicitor wisely.
Some solicitors will provide a ‘no foal, no fee’ service in certain kinds of cases, but they need to be very confident of success before taking on the case. Also, in such instances, you need to learn what exactly you are getting free. In this instance, paying the outlay the solicitor will incur in taking on your case would be reasonable.
Some law firms may offer a fixed fee rate; this gives the client comfort in knowing what they are paying for. However, it would be unlikely this arrangement would apply to litigation, where the unpredictable can add considerable time to a case.
When receiving invoices from your solicitor for services performed you should request a full breakdown of fees and any other costs with a breakdown of items.
If a barrister is brought into a case, the solicitor will first discuss it with you and give the reasons. The solicitor briefs the barrister and discharges their fee so the solicitor will have to have your prior consent to bring in counsel. Here too an estimate of the barrister’s fees should be obtained. The Bar Council requires barristers to give an estimate of their fees.
There shouldn’t be a mystery as to solicitors’ costs and the client should get a bill in line with expectations. This can only be achieved by dealing with the issue at an early stage of engagement.
Clients’ ‘Do’ List
Clients’ ‘Don’t’ List