Legal Definitions - attorney's fee

An attorney's fee is the payment made to a lawyer for their legal services. There are different ways that attorneys charge for their services:

• Hourly charge: The lawyer charges a certain amount of money for each hour they work on the case.
• Flat fee: The lawyer charges a fixed amount of money for a specific service, such as writing a will.
• Contingent fee: The lawyer gets paid a percentage of the amount of money the client wins in a case. If the client doesn't win, the lawyer doesn't get paid.
• Statutory fees: The lawyer charges a percentage of an estate for representing the estate.
• Court-approved fees: The lawyer charges fees that are approved by the court, such as in bankruptcy or guardianships.

It's important for the lawyer and the client to have a signed contract for any extensive legal work, especially in contingent fee cases. The lawyer keeps records of the time spent on the case to justify the fees, even when the work is not on an hourly basis. A "retainer" is a down payment on fees, often required by the lawyer to make sure they are not left holding the bag for work performed, or at least as a good faith indication that the client is serious and can afford the services.

For example, if a lawyer charges $200 per hour and works on a case for 10 hours, the attorney's fee would be $2,000. Another example is if a lawyer charges a flat fee of $250 to write a will, the attorney's fee would be $250. In a contingent fee case, if the lawyer and client agree on a one-third fee and the client wins $90,000, the attorney's fee would be $30,000.

Attorney fee disputes can be decided by arbitration, often operated by the local bar association. Attorney's fees are not awarded to the winning party in a lawsuit except where there is a provision in a contract for the fees or there is a statute which provides for an award of fees in the particular type of case.