People often wonder how much a lawyer costs. The pricing can be complicated. A good lawyer is transparent about what fees they are to charge you. You should always be in agreement with fees before a lawyer takes action. Each action has a financial consequence.
Basic determiners of price
As pricing can be complex, there are four main variables that determine price.
- Experience
- Case
- Practice size, location and reputation
- Communication
You are pretty much billed for every action taken around your case.
Experience
The more experience the lawyer, the more they will cost. If you're accused of a criminal charge, you don’t want a green lawyer who does not know the rules. Law is like an environment, if you need directions, you ask a local not a tourist. A lawyer is like a professional travel guide that prevents you from making a dire mistake.
Relying on a cheap lawyer to save money is not recommended. You wouldn’t want any Joe to guide you through the amazon. It will lead you to being lost. You want to rely on an experienced guide that has lived through the forest. They may cost more, but at least your success is more secure. This is analogous to hiring a lawyer.
Case
Lawyers tend to charge by the amount of time they work on your case. A simple case won’t get charged in comparison to a complex case. A very unique and complex case can have multiple lawyers research it. This obviously leads to higher pricing.
Practice size, location and reputation
Practices located in region areas are likely to have less customers or reputation than those in the city. A smaller practice is less likely to have big spenders compared to a large practice. Large practices tend to have the most experienced and successful lawyers in the game.
Because they are of higher demand, their time is often far more expensive.
Communication
Lawyers bill every time they work on your case. Any communication you make will increase your bill. This can include the following:
- Emails
- Calls
- Letters
- Text
- Face to face meetings
Every communication you make with your lawyer takes up your lawyer's time. This impacts your bill.
Further determiners of pricing
A lawyers duty in Australia to be fair and reasonable. Lawyers must disclose what they are charging you for. All fees must be proportionate and reasonable in amount.
According to the law, these prices are determined by the following:
- Level of skill
- Level of Experience
- Level of Specialization
- Level of Seniority
- Level of Complexity
- Novelty
- Level of Difficulty
- Public Interest
- Circumstances
- Urgency
- Time spent
- When and where business transactions were made
- Importance of documents
- Work done
These are the rules under the Legal Profession Uniform Law no 16a
It is illegal for a lawyer to practice in a way that incurs unnecessary legal costs. These laws are stringently followed by the members of the Law Society of NSW. We from Sterling Legal are members of this community. Trust your litigation with us.