Many people do not know how lawyers fees work. This article is designed to address that.
Billable Hours
Most lawyers use the billable hour. Lawyers have a set billable hour fee. The billable hour can range from $150/hour for more junior lawyers all the way up to $750 per hour and more in some law firms. As the lawyers work on your matter, they record billable time, and the client is invoiced. This is the standard method for billing in employment matters. Most employer lawyers use this method.
Retainers
Related to billable hours are retainers. Most lawyers require up front fees, called retainers. These are held in lawyer trust accounts, and then invoices are issued against the retainers regularly.
Contingency Agreements
Some law firms will take employment files on contingency. This means that lawyers will take a percentage of the amount which they obtain for the client. Most lawyers do not take employment files on contingency. At our firm, we take some files on Contingency when we believe we can assist clients.
Pro-Bono
Lawyers will sometimes do files for free (or pro bono) if they really believe in the file. Our firm believes in giving back and we do some pro-bono work as part of our practice
If you need to hire a lawyer for your Edmonton, Calgary or other Alberta matter, please feel free to contact us to discuss.
The information contained in this article is not legal advice. No solicitor client relationship is formed through this article. The reader is encouraged to retain counsel for advice in these matters.
