the Price of General Legal Services

The price is per hour. The services were for general title work, as well as some title litigation on a personal residence. I shopped around and the hourly rate was comparable in this area. In other words, it wasn't the lowest and it wasn't the highest, but it was certainly fair. The total bill was less than $2500, which means that my attorney put in about ten hours on the matters, which also seemed reasonable based on the nature of the work. I thought it was important that this particular attorney was willing to work without a retainer. Most aren't. I think that it is normal for an attorney to require a retainer, but I would be cautious about paying too much up front because you don't really know the caliber of the attorney until after he or she has started working on your project. If my project had become more complicated, then I agreed to pay a $2500 retainer after the first five hours of work, but it turned out that I didn't need to. I liked that set-up because there was a environment of mutual trust right up front. I trusted the lawyer to take care with my legal issue and he trusted me to pay the bill when tendered.

I was very happy with the service I received. The attorney was thorough, professional, and communicative. I never had to argue with my attorney about the fees charged or the services performed. He always kept me updated, even if there was no new news. In other words, I never had to go for more than a week wondering if my file had fallen off of his desk or into his trashcan. I have heard some horror stories about some attorneys and so I was particularly pleased with my experience in comparison to those others. If I have other general legal issues arise in the future, I will definitely return to this attorney if the issue falls within his practice areas. He was honest about his experience in the area I needed, and I trust him to continue to be candid in the future. For example, I have a patentable idea and he frankly told me that that was beyond the scope of his practice. I respect the honesty of people who know their limitations and who will not pretend to know something just to get money out of your pocket and into theirs. Overall, I would rate the service A .

Shop around, and get personal referrals if possible. Also, get a copy of the attorney's engagement agreement and have another attorney review it if you need to. Hiring an attorney is an extremely personal issue. There are no such thing as impersonal legal matters when it comes to you. Check out the attorneys' credentials with a State of local bar association, if possible, or through a peer review site online.