Flat Fee Representation vs Retainers

 In Local News

FLAT FEE REPRESENTATION VS RETAINERS:

Have you been in the position scrolling through countless law firms wondering which one would be best for you? Have you gone into consultations with attorneys and been told that it would be a certain amount of money down for a ‘retainer’? What does a retainer entail? Is that all you pay for a law firms’ representation? The answer is no, which is why Gierman Law offers peace of mind with flat fee representation.

Retainers: A retainer is a word used by law firms who bill you hourly. When you meet with an attorney to discuss your case the attorney may give you a quote of what would need to be paid for a retainer. That is not the final cost of your case. A retainer is a lump sum of money you pay the attorney for (him/her) to get started on your case. That money goes into an account where the attorney pulls money from it as it is earned. Once that lump sum of money, or retainer, gets down to a certain amount, more money is owed by you.

As an attorney works on your case, they typically bill you for every .1 of an hour. At the end of each month you receive an invoice that details where the attorney spent time on your case and how much you owe. Every email, text, and phone call spent on your case is billed. A half hour phone call can leave you over $100 in the hole. If your retainer does not cover the cost, then you owe more money. A standard divorce includes multiple consultations, divorce paperwork, mediation and potentially a multiple day trial. If you hire an attorney who bills hourly at a rate of $300 then your retainer will be dried very quickly, and you can be looking at owing tens of thousands of dollars for your case.

Flat Fee: At Gierman Law, we offer flat fee representation. This means you know what your case will cost even if you go to trial. We offer flat fee representation because we understand whether you are going through a criminal, family or child protection case, there are a lot of stressors in your life. Owing an attorney an unknown amount of money monthly should not be one of them. Gierman Law works for you. We represent our clients zealously while also allowing them to have the peace of mind that we will not charge them more money just to go to a trial. We want our clients to have an open dialogue with us about their case without the panic of paying over a hundred dollars for a 30-minute phone call. Each clients case is important to us and we look forward to answering any questions you may have about flat fee representation.

Contact us today or learn more about us at:

Giermanlaw.com

Wanda Gierman – 320-259-4004                                              Ross Montgomery – 320-259-4080

[email protected]                                                         [email protected]

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