Flat fees, and where they fail
Flat fees work for stages with a known shape. They fail where the other side sets the pace, and we tell you which is which up front.
Flat fees work for stages with a known shape. They fail where the other side sets the pace, and we tell you which is which up front.
We price stages of work at a fixed figure where the shape of the work is known, and we hold to that price. Clients deserve to plan a budget, not guess at one.
Flat fees work well for early case assessments, demand letters, emergency motions with a defined record, and mediations. The work is bounded and we control the pace.
They fail where the other side controls the pace: contested discovery, motion practice driven by opponents, and trial preparation against a moving target.
How we price a matter
- Stage oneA fixed-fee assessment with a written view on merits and cost.
- Bounded stagesFixed figures for work we can scope, agreed in writing.
- Open stagesHourly with a budget, reported monthly against actual spend.
What we will not do
We will not quote a flat fee for work we cannot scope, because a price that has to be renegotiated halfway is worse than an honest estimate.
If a stage begins to run over its budget, you hear it from us before the invoice, along with the reason.
How we divide a typical matter for pricing purposes.
A price that has to be renegotiated halfway through is worse than an honest estimate given up front.
Questions clients ask
Do you take contingency cases?
Occasionally, for strong claims with collectable defendants. We will discuss it at the first meeting.
Are costs included?
Court fees, experts and vendors are billed at cost and agreed before they are incurred.
Treat this note as background only. Your own facts decide the right answer, and a short call is the way to test them.
