advance fees

Before hiring an Illinois attorney, you should always have an honest and forthright discussion about how you will be paid. The method of billing an attorney, as well as the fees, depend on the amount of time spent working on your case, as well as the nature of your legal problem and the reputation and experience of the attorney. Rate types are hourly, a flat rate, or a contingency basis.

A retainer fee is a certain amount of money that you pay up front and in advance to an attorney. The attorney puts that money into a special trust account and deducts the cost of the services from that account as they accumulate.

This type of fee is typically used when a legal bill is high and the attorney needs to do ongoing work. Common practice areas that use retainer fees are family law and criminal law, although many other hourly cases use them as well. Basically, a retainer fee works like a debit card. You pay an amount up front, and the attorney takes that money when the job is done. For example, if you give a lawyer $2,500.00 and he charges $250.00 per hour, you have prepaid 10 hours of his time. Usually, after you work enough hours to pay the retainer fee, they will ask for more money. Advance fees are usually refundable. In other words, if you fire your attorney or the case ends, any unbilled money must be returned to you.

Be sure to ask lots of questions and read the written agreement you have with your attorney so you understand exactly what its terms are. For example, the attorney may add interest or other fees to unpaid amounts in the future. Similarly, if you decide to drop a case your attorney has worked on before you have exhausted the retainer fee, you may lose any remainder. If your matter needs to go to court, additional fees may also be required.

In addition, I recommend that you ask your attorney to provide you with a monthly statement of the work they perform. We’ve seen too many cases where a client doesn’t talk about the work their attorney is billing for many months and one day they get a call or email saying the retainer is gone and the client has a few thousand to pay. more or the Illinois attorney they hired will withdraw from the case. By getting a monthly bill, you can stay on top of the work your attorney is doing and keep track of what your work is costing you.

No matter how you choose to compensate an attorney, we cannot stress enough that you must get any agreement you have with them in writing.