Carolina Law BlogPart of the attorney-client relationship involves setting forth the terms and conditions of hiring a lawyer. That includes establishing what are legal fees and costs of legal r
epresentation. In setting attorneys fees, lawyers consider a series of factors, including years of courtroom experience, the complexity of legal issues involved, the lawyer’s relative level of training, reputation in the legal community, and the amount of time anticipated to complete tasks.
Lawyers may also consider what other cases they may be required to decline representation, given time constraints and availability to perform tasks and potential conflicts of interest.
Each lawyer and law firm can also have different ways of doing things and personal preferences, especially regarding certain specific aspects of legal representation in North Carolina or South Carolina. Here are some good general rules of thumb:
- Criminal Defense Lawyers often charge a “flat rate” for legal representation and may accept payments
- Defense attorneys generally do not charge consultation fees for DWI charges in North Carolina or DUI in South Carolina
- Defense lawyers normally also provide free case evaluations for allegations of criminal charges like assault and battery, drug charges, and traffic tickets
- Court costs are often not included as part of legal representation
- Fines and Community Service Fees are also normally not included as part of legal fees
- Defense Lawyers may charge an hourly rate for additional work and may charge for court continuances
- Criminal defense attorneys may also break legal representation into different levels (and legal fees) for a plea vs. jury trial or motions, district court vs. superior court, felony vs misdemeanor
- Accident Injury Lawyers (personal injury attorneys or “Plantiffs Lawyers”) commonly proceed by way of Contingent Legal Fee or Contingency Fees, meaning legal fees are tied to a recovery of money damages under a settlement or verdict after trial
- Car accident lawyers (motorcycle accidents, trucking accidents, etc.) also normally do not charge consultation fees or hourly rates
- The client ultimately bears the costs of litigation including things like filing fees, depositions, and expert witnesses
- A verdict after jury trial may include compensation for the costs of litigation and pre-trial interest, depending on the factual basis of the case, the type of litigation, and other legal considerations
- Family Law Attorneys normally charge an hourly rate and may also require a True Retainer to reserve their ability to assist
- Legal issues involving divorce, child support, and alimony often charge a consultation fee
- Unlike many other areas involving family law issues, claims for Alienation of Affection and Criminal Conversation may proceed under a contingent legal fee
Given the complexities of legal representation and the different options available to lawyers and clients as part of legal services, we encourage clients to ask questions.
We want our clients to understand what we charge and what it costs to establish a formal attorney-client relationship – Bill Powers, North Carolina Lawyer
Just like each client is different, each case is different. Our law firm is more than willing to sit down with you, talk about your case, determine what we can do to help, and explain legal fees and the attorney-client relationship with our lawyers. The information in this blog post is intended to be general in nature. If you have specific questions or want a formal quote for legal services, call now: (704)-342-HELP
A lot of that depends on how far along the case has developed and how much work is to be performed. We like to set forth what expenses are covered (and not covered), whether that includes office visits, legal consultations, continuances, pre-trial motions, retaining expert witnesses, depositions, the filing of motions and how far we’ll take the case without increasing that rate. In many, if not most instances, we prefer to that in writing for clients.
The initial, preliminary phone call is free of charge and it’s also confidential. At that time we will normally check for potential conflicts of interest and confirm our availability for legal representation. While our attorneys may provide legal representation in North Carolina and South Carolina, we focus our practices in:
- Charlotte NC and Mecklenburg County
- Monroe NC and Union County
- Statesville NC (Mooresville NC) and Iredell County
- Gastonia NC and Gaston County
- Rock Hill SC and York County
Attorney Chris Beddow is licensed to practice law in both South Carolina and North Carolina. Senior Partner Bill Powers is licensed only in the State of North Carolina and therefore limits legal representation to legal matters in North Carolina. Our law firm has an office in Charlotte NC, North Carolina.
Give us a ring. We’re more than willing to sit down with you, introduce ourselves, and get to know you. We want you to feel comfortable with our law firm and our attorneys. We want to answer your questions. We want to provide information. And most importantly, we want to help.
It is a relationship, a business relationship to some extent, and it’s also a personal relationship. It doesn’t do us any good fail to explain things and provide good legal advice and have a client ticked off because they didn’t understand what it was going to cost – Bill Powers, Attorney at Law
Who Is Attorney Bill Powers?
Bill Powers is the founding partner of Powers Law Firm PA having practiced law in North Carolina since 1992. His professional focus is based upon litigation in the various courts of North Carolina, both civil court or criminal court, felony or misdemeanor, criminal case or divorce case.
Bill is a Board Certified Specialist by the National Board of Legal Specialty Specialization (NBTA) in the area of Criminal Defense. He has been a former member of the North Carolina Governor’s Safety Highway Impaired Driving Task Force and a regular lecturer on evolving legal issues, caselaw, pending litigation, statutes and a policies regarding the operation of courts in North Carolina.
Powers Law Firm PA handles DWI in North Carolina, DUI in Rock Hill SC, Impaired Driving, Criminal and Traffic matters in Charlotte, North Carolina and Rock Hill, South Carolina, as well as Family Law in Charlotte NC and Divorce cases in York County SC, including allegations of assault, assault and battery, assault on a female, communication threats and 50B domestic violence protective orders (restraining orders).
**Chris Beddow is the only attorney at Powers Law Firm PA licensed to practice law in the State of South Carolina. Mr. Beddow is responsible for all legal matters in South Carolina. The firm additionally assists people hurt due to the negligence of others in matters normally involving Driving Under the Influence or Distracted Driving cases.
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