the Price of General Legal Services

We hired a general practice lawyer to handle a dispute involving the purchase of a boat and his hourly rate was $175. When we first met with him, we described the situation and told him what we needed, and he told us that it would probably take about 15 total hours to get a resolution. He ended up billing us for 14 hours, along with some minor incidental costs like parking at the court building.

We met with one other lawyer before we hired this attorney to handle the matter for us, and we were pleased with the outcome. He gave us an acurate estimate of the time that he would need to spend on the issue, and he made us feel comfortable during the initial meeting that he was familiar with the legal issues and could handle the work. He did not make any guarantees, but he kept us informed of his work and his opinion along the way so that we weren't left to wonder what was happening, and when we got to the end and the resolution, he gave us his recommendation but let us make the final decision on what to do. He was direct and we appreciated his work. The price was reasonable for a general practice attorney in our city and we were satisfied with his services.

If you are going to spend a few thousand dollars, meet with two or three attorneys in order to make a good decision. The attorney should have some knowledge of the area you are hiring him to work in and should be able to give you a general budget and estimate of time. If they are not able or willing to do that in the beginning, it might be a sign to look for someone else that can be straightforward with you.