In the field of legal service, there isn’t really such thing as “standard” price rate. Professional fee varies and depends on the nature, complexity, significance, and severity of the legal service that is required and your willingness to spend. Other factors include the hours the lawyer spent on your case. Some experienced and well-known lawyers may also charge higher than usual. That is why it is important to not hesitate to ask for possible ceiling of the fees when asking for legal service as this will establish professional communication and will help you estimate the expenses.
To give you an overview on what could be the possible legal fees to pay in case you will ask for a legal service from lawyers here in Manila, here are some of the common legal fee arrangements:
Consultation fee --
Consultation fee is what lawyers charge their client for the professional assessment or diagnosis they have concurred upon hearing client’s case. Some lawyers do not really ask for consultation fees. But again, there isn’t yet a standard legal fee in the Philippines when it comes to this so the best way to avoid any unwanted charges is to ask over the phone before coming over for an appointment.
Retainer Fees--
Retainer fees can be considered as a payment that is made to make sure or guarantee that the lawyer will stay on you case and that the lawyer is on-call to cater to your legal problems for a period of time. Consider it as down payment in which a portion of the estimated fees will be billed early on. Many retainer fees are non-refundable unless the fee is deemed unreasonable by a court. Since this type of fee arrangement can mean several different things, be sure to have the lawyer explain the retainer fee arrangement in detail.
Contingency Fees --
This fee is based on a percentage of the amount awarded in the legal case. If you lose the case in court, the lawyer does not get a fee, but you will still have to pay expenses. Contingency fee percentages that the lawyer gets may be around 30% to 50% of the property or money involved.
Aside from these three, there are other fees that lawyers may charge their client such as their hourly rate, acceptance fee, and referral fees. How much the final fees will be shall boil down on the negotiations.
There are also some cases in which the office will refuse to take. For more information about this you can check here.
With all these possible fees on hiring a lawyer in Manila, it would really best to discuss it thoroughly with before making arrangements. Negotiate and explore your options carefully after all it would be a lot more difficult to collaborate with them if you are uneasy with them.
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