Attorney fees (note that the use of the word 'attorney' connotes lawyers broadly: solicitors and barristers) are the costs of legal representation that an attorney's client or a party to a lawsuit incurs. A party is a Person or group of persons that compose a single Entity which can be identified as one for the purposes of the Law. In law a lawsuit is a civil action brought before a Court in which the party commencing the action the Plaintiff, seeks a legal or equitable remedy Attorney's fees are assessed in a number of ways, usually set by contract in advance of the representation, including by billable hours, flat fees, or contingent fees. A contingent fee in the United States or conditional fee in the United Kingdom is any Fee for services provided where the fee is only payable Attorneys who voluntarily accept work on behalf of indigent clients often work pro bono. An attorney at law (or attorney-at-law) in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute Pro bono publico (usually shortened to pro bono) is a Phrase derived from Latin meaning "for the public good

An upfront fee paid to a lawyer is called a retainer. An advance payment, or simply an advance, is the part of a contractually due sum that is paid in advance while the balance will only follow after receipt on the counterpart Money within the retainer is often used to "buy" a certain amount of work. Some contracts provide that when the money from the retainer is gone, the fee is renegotiated.

In some jurisdictions, in a civil case, a lawyer for the plaintiff can take a case on a contingent fee basis. A plaintiff ( Π in Legal shorthand) also known as a claimant or complainant, is the party who initiates a Lawsuit A contingent fee is a percentage of the monetary judgment or settlement. In non-legal contexts a judgment is a balanced weighing up of evidence preparatory to making a decision The contingent fee may be split among several firms who have contractual arrangements amongst themselves for referrals or other assistance. Where a plaintiff loses, the attorney may not receive any money for his or her work. Many countries prohibit contingent fees as entirely unethical. Most jurisdictions in the United States prohibit working for a contingent fee in family law or criminal cases. Family law is an area of the Law that deals with family-related issues and Domestic relations including but not limited to the nature of In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment

In the United States, state laws or bar regulations, many of which are based on Rule 1. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 5 of the American Bar Association's Rules of Professional Conduct, govern the terms which lawyers can accept fees. ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, created by the American Bar Association (ABA is a set of professional standards to prescribe legal ethics and professional responsibility ^[1] Many complaints to ethics boards regarding attorneys revolve around excessive attorney's fees. ^[2]

Contents 1 Amount of fees 2 Loser pays 3 Awards of attorney fees in the United States 4 Tort reform and attorney fees 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

Amount of fees

The range of fees charged by lawyers varies widely from one city to the next. Most large law firms in the United States bill between $200 and $500 per hour for their lawyers' time, though fees charged by smaller firms are much lower. A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more Lawyers to engage in the practice of law The rate varies tremendously by location as well as the specific area of law practiced. Typically insurance defense firms have lower hourly rates than other non-insurance firms, but are compensated by having steady, regular paying work provided. Locations like Salt Lake City will average $150 per hour for an associate's time on a basic case, but will increase for larger firms.

Many survey of hourly rates are done. The American Intellectual Property Law Association ("AIPLA") commissions a survey of its members every 2 years and it publishes these in what it calls a "Report of the Economic Survey". The latest one is dated June of 2007. Rates are collected for 14 geographic areas and by associate or partner. See www. aipla. org for more information, although the Surveys are not made available on-line but must be purchased. Many courts have followed the rates shown by these AIPLA surveys and they are highly-regarded for Intellectual Property litigation.

The State Bar of Oregon and the Colorado State Bar also have published an Economic Survey of rates for various areas of Oregon and Colorado and these are available on line.

Perhaps the most widely followed set of rates are what is called the Laffey Matrix that is available from the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. These have been available since 1982 and are updated each year. The hourly rates are shown by years of experience. For June 1, 2006 to May 31, 2007 the rates are as follows: 20+ years of experience, $425 per hour; 11-19 years, $375; 8-10 years, $305; 4-7 years, $245; 1-3 years, $205; and Paralegals/law clerks $120. [1]. The Laffey Matrix appears to be growing in acceptance by many court throughout the United States, but the matrix must be adjusted to account for higher or lower costs for legal services in other areas.

Hourly rates are increasing almost every year and some lawyers charge substantially higher than the rates shown by the Laffey Matrix. The first American attorney to regularly charge a four-digit hourly fee ($1000 and higher) was Benjamin Civiletti in late 2005. Benjamin Richard Civiletti (born July 17, 1935, in Peekskill New York) served as the United States Attorney General during the last ^[3]

Loser pays

Most countries operate under a "loser pays" system, sometimes called the English Rule. In the field of Law and economics, the English Rule is a rule regarding assessment of Attorneys' fees arising out of Litigation. Under the English rule, the losing party pays the successful party’s attorney fees (please note that the award is referred to as "attorney fee" as the fees do not belong to the attorney, but to the prevailing party), as well as other court costs. The United States is a notable exception, operating under the American Rule, whereby each party bears its own legal expenses. In the field of Law and economics, the American Rule is a rule regarding assessment of Attorneys' fees arising out of Litigation. Some tort reform advocates propose adopting a "loser pays" rule in the United States. Tort reform refers to the idea of changing the rules applicable to the Law of Tort. For example, a judge may say: "I am ruling for the plaintiff on the amount of $(amount of money) plus all court costs and attorney's fees. A judge, or justice, is an Official who presides over a Court of law A plaintiff ( Π in Legal shorthand) also known as a claimant or complainant, is the party who initiates a Lawsuit Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts. "

Awards of attorney fees in the United States

A number of federal laws provide for an award of attorney fees for a prevailing plaintiff, such as:

• Class actions
• Civil rights violations, see Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976
• Freedom of Information Act violations
• Copyright and patent cases
• Antitrust actions
• Lemon law cases
• Suits against the federal government where the position of the government was not "substantially justified"

Note that these "fee shifting" awards are a characteristic of the law enforced and do not necessarily depend upon the court in which they were brought; state courts can and do sometimes hear lawsuits brought under federal law. A plaintiff ( Π in Legal shorthand) also known as a claimant or complainant, is the party who initiates a Lawsuit In Law, a class action or a representative action is a form of Lawsuit where a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court The Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976 is a law of the United States Copyright is a legal concept enacted by Governments, giving the creator of an original work of authorship Exclusive rights to control its distribution usually for A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an Lemon laws are American state laws that provide a remedy for purchasers of cars that repeatedly fail to meet standards of quality and performance So if, for example, a person brings a civil rights action in state court and wins, he may be entitled to an award of attorney fees.

Most states have statutes under which attorneys' fees may be awarded to a prevailing plaintiff, such as an action on a contract where the contract contains a provision allowing recovery, or an action brought under consumer protection laws. Both plaintiffs and defendants are frequently awarded attorneys fees in divorce and child custody actions, although this is an unusual circumstance, since such awards are made under the court's power to divide property or award alimony and child support. A majority of states allow generally for an award to any party in a lawsuit, if another party has forced him to expend money on attorneys fees to defend against a claim utterly or substantially lacking any possible merit (frequently called "abusive litigation").

For example, in the State of Georgia, a trial court must award attorneys fees if a party has brought a claim "with respect to which there existed such a complete absence of any justiciable issue of law or fact that it could not be reasonably believed that a court would accept the asserted claim, defense, or other position. " O. C. G. A. § 9-15-14(a). A trial court may, but is not required to, award attorneys fees if a party has made a claim "that lacked substantial justification or . . . was interposed for delay or harassment, or if [the opposing party] unnecessarily expanded the proceeding by other improper conduct . . . . " O. C. G. A. § 9-15-14(b).

There are many ways of calculating prevailing-party attorney fees. Most courts recognize that actual costs may be disproportionate and inequitable. Thus, many jurisdictions rely on other calculations. In Law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak" is the practical Authority Many courts or laws invoke a lodestar' calculation: reasonably expected billable hours multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate, sometimes multiplied by a factor reflecting the risk or complexity of the case. Courts in class actions frequently award fees proportionate to the damages recovered. The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, which, among other provisions, regulates the fees that can be awarded in a class action, was passed in response to concerns that courts were not adequately overseeing the award of such fees. The US Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, 28 USC Sections 1332(d 1453 and 1711-1715 expanded federal jurisdiction over many large Class-action

Some statutes permit awards of attorney fees to prevailing defendants in extraordinary circumstances, such as proving that the litigation was frivolous, in the sense of it being objectively base and in brought in bad faith. A statute is a formal written enactment of a Legislative authority that governs a Country, State, City, or County. Frivolous litigation as used in colloquial and political terms in the United States refers to Lawsuits that are based on a theory that seems absurd or where the claim results

Tort reform and attorney fees

Some tort reform proposals in the United States seek to further regulate attorney fees. Tort reform refers to the idea of changing the rules applicable to the Law of Tort. Florida passed a law limiting contingent fees in medical malpractice cases. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a Health care provider in which care provided deviates from accepted standards of practice Some object to these laws as an unfair restriction on freedom of contract. Freedom of contract or contractualism is the idea that individuals should be free to bargain among themselves the terms of their own contracts without government interference

References

See also

• Law of costs
• Laffey Matrix
• No win no fee

External links

• The Colorado Bar Association 2000 Economic Survey

Costs redirects here For costs related to economics and accounting see Cost. The Laffey Matrix is a fee schedule used by many United States courts for determining the proper hourly rates for professional legal work No win no fee is generally used in the English legal system to refer to a conditional fee agreement between a law firm and a client

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