Legal costs are part of the process when it comes to hiring a lawyer to handle your case. The rates can be broken down depending on the profile of your representative, from a solicitor to a senior or junior counsel member.

 

What should be taken into account as you undertake various consultations is a discussion around the billing requirements of a lawyer from a particular firm. Some professionals will give their clients certain concessions whilst others will charge standard rates across the board.

 

So what should you be looking out for exactly when it comes to legal costs? Here we will outline some of the fundamentals that are part of their model.

Attendances

 

From making telephone and conference calls to showing up for meetings with clients and council, attendances are part and parcel of the billing process. This takes into account their handling of the complexities of these environments where they stand in and issue an authoritative voice for the client.

Delegation

 

On occasions there will be paralegals that need to be introduced as a team from one firm help to delegate various responsibilities. A contract beforehand should stipulate if this will be a concession or it is part of their billing procedure.

Research and Readings

 

Reading pages that are printed out in document form or transferred as an email, letter, text message or through a smartphone are chargeable from the point of view of the lawyer. Whilst correspondence will be part of their practice, the same can be said for researching of information and data to support a case, a process that can be lengthy but vitally important for the standing of a case.

Document Preparation and Copying

 

It is one element to read and interpret documents, it is another having them copied and prepared for court and legal proceedings. These forms must be presented in a certain style and to a particular number of bodies to be lodged correctly.

Going to Court

 

Just the action of heading to court will cost the client for the services of their lawyer’s time and expertise. This is one of the central reasons why court action is seen as a last resort to avoid the fees spiraling out of control. Legal costs orders will determine which party or parties are to pay for legal representation, yet in most cases you will be given a bill regardless if the result is a win or a loss.

 

Another aspect that should be considered in this department of legal costs is the issue of transport, a facet that is inclusive of various costs that are sent to the client.