Hourly Rate
Attorney Rate: $350
Non-Attorney Rate: $105
While the hourly fee has gotten a bad reputation, it owes its legacy to the fact that it’s a very effective form of billing for legal and advisory services. In theory, a client should be paying its attorney only for those services that are performed, which means the hourly fee guarantees you get what you pay for. Unfortunately, big firm mentality and lawyer abuses have corrupted this form of billing, and there are thousands and thousands of situations where attorneys have over-billed their clients.
In many instances, the hourly fee can be a successful billing method. If you want on-going general representation or counsel, or you need help in on-going litigation, the hourly fee may be the perfect fit. The billing method itself is not so fundamentally flawed, its the mentality and good faith of the attorney that is flawed.
Stringfield & Associates has implemented a number of systems and procedures to ensure the hourly fee is charged to our clients appropriately, including the following:
- .1 Minimum Time. Many firms have a minimum charge of .2, .3 or even .5 hours, which means you will pay for 12, 18, 24, or 30 minutes of work even if the task took just one minute.
- Blended Rates means that all of our attorneys have a single rate: $250 / hr. Many firms create a pyramid of rates based on lawyer seniority, with some senior “partners” earning $500+ an hour. Every task in the firm gets performed by an associate ($200+ / hr) and then reviewed by one or more partners. You’re getting charged on top of getting charged on top of getting charged. All of our attorneys charge the same rate to keep billing simple, and we don’t pile attorneys on a case.
- Consistent Billing: Ever wait months before receiving your attorney’s bill, and then feel a little sticker shock when it comes in the mail? We bill you on the same day each and every month, which means you always know how much your spending, you won’t be surprised by large bills, and you’ll be able to manage your legal budget as your spending and going forward.
- Detailed Invoices: You’ll never be unsure about the time charged to you. Every task we perform for our client is recorded in details in our case management system, and these task notes are the items that appear on your bill. You’ll never get a charge from us for an “email,” “phone call,” “research,” “drafting pleading,” or some other vaguely described item. Our charges will be very clear about these events, describing who the phone call or email was to and what was said, what was researched and learned, etc.
If you’re ready to experience a different level of legal service and the hourly fee is right for you, schedule an initial consultation with us.