At our firm we take great pride in providing outstanding legal services and high-level personal service for individuals and families. We understand that for most of our clients this will be their first experience with the Court system and we appreciate the stress associated with having to cope with a significant event in their life, whether a criminal charge or a pending divorce, in addition to having to learn to navigate the Court system. We are including this information in this page, because we want to be open about who we are, what we do, and how we conduct our business so that you would be comfortable trusting our firm to help you through the system during this trying time in your life.
How much will my case cost?
While there could be a large number of questions that one may have when it comes to our law firm, the way we practice and the law, we realize that inevitably the main question that lingers out there is “How much is my case going to cost”. It is a simple question that regrettably does not have a simple answer. Yet, we do realize that few people, if any, have a legal fees savings account sitting around, and that is why we try hard to be as efficient and inexpensive as possible.
Make no mistake, legal services are not inexpensive. If you are on an extremely limited income, there are state-funded agencies that provide free legal services and you can either ask the court to appoint an attorney for you, or you may inquire if you are financially eligible for their services. In criminal cases you have the right to a state-paid attorney, through the Public Defender’s Office, and you can contact them here. For civil matters you can contact Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services or Legal Assistance of Olmsted County.
What kinds of fees will I be responsible for?
Your legal costs are going to be made up of at least three separate kinds of fees; the attorney’s fees, the Court and filing fees, which you can find here, and any additional fees to be paid to third parties. Keep in mind that some of the third party fees can be voluntary, such as whether to have an expert witness, or mandatory, such as a court-ordered custody evaluator. That is why a simple answer to how much it will cost is not possible.
Do you charge for an initial consultation?
Consistent with our mission of providing outstanding and affordable personalized legal services, we do not charge for an initial consultation. This community and this profession has been very good to me and this is my way of giving back, by being accessible and allowing you to have an opportunity to talk about your legal situation without feeling that the only way to speak to an attorney is with your checkbook. Additionally, we do not charge extra for “court time”. We believe that, especially in criminal law, you should not have to consider, in addition to everything else, whether going to Court is going to cost you more in attorney’s fees.
What, and how much is, the retainer fee?
After the initial consultation we will ask you to provide us with a retainer fee, or advance payment, which will be deposited in a separate trust account and against which we will charge our work in your case, and for which we will account to you on a monthly basis. The amount of the advance payment will depend on several factors, such as the complexity of the case, whether it is of an urgent nature, which would require a lot of immediate work, etc. In most cases, if we do not use the full amount of the retainer fee by the termination of your case, we will promptly refund you the remainder of the money. Alternatively, should your retainer be depleted we will ask you for an additional payment in order to continue the representation. In certain criminal cases, if appropriate, we can represent you on a flat fee basis. After the initial consultation with your attorney we will be in a better position to advise you which is the better the option for you.
Additionally, please feel free to browse around my blog for interesting links as well as interesting court decisions regarding criminal and family law.
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