Attorney’s fees are simply the payment for legal services. They can take several forms including, hourly charges, flat fees for a particular service, contingent fees (such as one-third of the gross recovery, and none if there is no recovery), statutory fees (percentages of an estate for representing the estate), court-approved fees (such as in bankruptcies or guardianships), and some mixture of hourly and contingent fees, or some other combination.

It is important, and necessary, for attorneys and clients to have a signed contract for any extensive legal work, particularly in contingent fee cases. Attorneys will keep records of time spent on cases to justify fees. This is often done even when the work is not done on an hourly basis. Some lawyers will request a “retainer” which is a down-payment on fees, as a good faith indication that the client will continue to pay and is serious about having the legal work performed. This also helps to ensure the attorney isn’t left with holding the bag for work performed.

Attorney’s fees are not awarded to the winning party except for a lawsuit where the contract has a provision for the fees or where there is a statute which provides for an award of fees.

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Tags: Legal Definitions

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