Attorney Fees Information

No Cost to You for Legion Counsel Services
There is no charge to you for the services of Legion in finding and recommending the right attorney and monitoring their performance for a period of time. The selected law firm is obliged to compensate Legion and is prohibited from passing this cost on to you.  However, the selected law firm does need to be compensated one way or another.
 
Fees of Selected Attorneys
Legion will recommend only those firms we know have impressive credentials and relevant experience. We will typically recommend exceptional attorneys from the smaller firms which likely will charge less and provide more personal service than the giant law firms.

Contingent Fees: If the selected firms’ practice areas of expertise involve damage claims for money (e.g. personal injury, medical malpractice, product liability, wrongful termination, etc.), the firm will likely accept the case on a contingent fee basis, receiving its fee only if the case is successful. You might have to pay court costs and other expenses, or the lawyer might agree to advance the costs. The firm would receive a percentage of any settlement or award and a reimbursement of any costs advanced. Should the case be lost, the attorney receives no fee. For example, if you were awarded $30,000 in a personal injury case and the attorney received a one-third contingency fee, you would net $20,000, less the amount of any costs advanced. The contingency fee percentage and responsibility for costs are agreed upon by the attorney and you. A fee percentage ranging from 30% to 40% is considered standard, given the risk undertaken by the attorney.

In California, there are specific limits to the contingent fees of an attorney handling medical malpractice cases.

Fees based upon attorney time:  For all types of legal cases other than damage claims for money, attorneys need to be compensated for the time devoted to the matter. You would need to have the resources to pay the selected attorney. These fees might either be calculated per hour spent, or be a fixed amount for certain kinds of matters, such as a simple divorce or preparation of a will. Hourly fees might range from $200 to even $1000 (recently announced for certain New York counsel). A consideration is whether a particular lawyer’s expertise would result in a better or faster outcome to a problem. Legion will only recommend attorneys whose fees are considered appropriate for their skills and demonstrated success.

The fees chargeable for certain kinds of legal work, including probate and bankruptcy, are set by law, or must be approved by the court.

An up-front retainer fee is usually required for the protection of the law firm, the amount of which is credited against fees as they are earned.

Out-of-pocket costs:  You will be charged for the costs incurred in addition to the attorney fees. Costs would include such things as court reporters’ charges, testifying experts’ charges and filing fees.

The Fee Agreement
The arrangement for the fees to be paid and responsibility for expenses will be detailed in a retainer agreement entered into between you and the law firm. Upon your request, Legion Counsel will review this agreement and its terms  prior to its execution.