Often I'm asked, "how much do you charge?" And that seemingly simple question requires a complicated answer,  because to be honest it depends on all kinds of things including what do you want me to do, how soon do you need it, what kind of payment arrangement do you want, and how much am I responsible for.  I can explain that in detail if you like, but ultimately it comes done to this: you are paying me to take responsibility for the stress and complication of a problem, and what I charge is proportionate to the nature of the responsibility.Before I go into price, I have a few questions for you:1) Is there anything else you want to know me other than price?If the answer is yes, send me an e-mail and ask. I will gladly tell you anything you need to know about my qualifications. 2) Is there anything other than price that right now would prevent you from hiring me.  If there is, then a discussion of price is premature. If you want to give me an opportunity to address your concern,  send me an e-mail and together we'll see if we can resolve the matter. So, I guess we've reached the point where you just have to say "Tom you're great, I want you to be my attorney, but now I need to know if I can afford  you."Of course you can afford me, I work with you to make my services affordable.  Multiple fee options are available, including but not limited to hourly, contingency, flat rate, and combinations of the prior stated methods.Additionally, arrangements can be made for legal coaching, document preparation only, limited representation, and, of course, for those with extensive legal work, for volume discounts.  Finally, depending on the type of matter, I can provide services with a pre-paid discount, on a payment plan, or on a secured deed.    Lets discuss how we can make my services affordable to you.So, you still want to ask the question... "what do you charge?"  Ok, if you want a general guideline, I charge $225 an hour  for pre-trial services and $275 an hour for trial services for generic contested litigation matters that are non-contingent.  When appropriate I use law clerks, paralegals, financial analysts, and other support contractors to handle some types of work, and I charge a fee for their services corresponding to their proportional cost to me. You might be asking "how did you come up with that hourly rate?"  Well, I factored several things... including but not limited to "salary", health insurance, retirement, infrastructure, overhead, risk, "profit", float time (for example the time between when I do the work, the time I send the bill, and the time the client actually pays me), and a cushion factor for when things unexpectedly go wrong (like when the printer breaks down and I have to pay an assistant overtime to drive to Kinkos in the middle of a Saturday night to make copies). Another frequently asked question is:  "Will you do this on a contingency/deferred fee basis?"  This answer is maybe. Each case is different, and each case is charged differently. However, because my payment is contingent and deferred, I charge a premium hourly rate on hourly matters to reflect the risks that I take in taking the case such a basis.  In some cases I charge a percentage of recovery. And in some cases I charge a hybrid of hourly and percentage.  It depends on the case.  The fee agreement that pertains to your specific case will be described in detail in the office and you will have a chance to review it before you sign. Generally speaking, the only cases done on a Straight Contingency Basis are Personal Injury Cases.

Flat Rate Services Some matters can be done on a flat rate (non-hourly basis).  Generally this reserved for Bankruptcy Petitions,  Contracts, Premarital Agreements, and other standardized matters.  I will consider flat rates on straight forward standardized litigation matters.  As a general rule, flat rate fees are non-refundable, and must be paid in full before the service is done.

FAQ: CONTINGENCY I'm often asked will I handle a case on contingency.   It doesn't hurt to ask, there are many cases that can be done on contingency,  or a partial contingency, deferred basis or partically deferred basis, or on a lien basis, and I am willing to consider your case for representation under these payment methods. However, most cases are not done on Contingency. This has nothing to do with the merits of the case,  contingency is a special method of payment that is reserved for relatively unique cases and causes of action. Defense cases are not done on contingency.  They are done hourly, or occassionally flat rate.  In some cases there is a potential cross-complaint, and I will evalutate representation on  a partially deferred basis if the cross-complaint meets certain parameters. Family Law Cases are not allowed to be done on contingency.  On a case by case basis I may take a case on a partially deferred basis if there are assets that are subject to Statutory Lien.  Statutory Attorney's fees: Plaintiff side representation in cases that are based on Laws that give as a remedy an award of attorney's fees are sometimes taken on a full or partial contingent deferred basis.  Personal Injury:  Insured Personal Injury cases are always taken on contingency basis. "PRO BONO" Pro Bono means "for the public interest".  I am happy to say that I am doing Pro Bono work for a non-profit, and will consider any valid non-profit's application for Pro Bono representation or assistance. However, I am not able to do Pro Bono work for individuals who are financially unable to pay for legal services whose cases are "private interest" in nature.   If you have a private interest case that may have public interest implications, I can sometimes refer you to an organization that handles that area of law.