Established in 1971 by two lawyers, Nolo is one of the eldest legal service companies on the market. Attracting attention to over 1 million visitors to their platform every month, Nolo aims to provide legal information for everyone who needs it. What’s more, Nolo publishes the necessary legal content in pure English instead of tricky and less understandable law terminology.
Nolo is a very successful company, offering legal articles, legal literature, and e-books. Using their services, you can build custom legal contracts and documents, and you can also get a hold of a lawyer in your area.
Instead of rushing to hire an attorney, first, check how much an attorney will charge you for their legal services, especially if you need a lease agreement. Even though the average cost of an attorney to review your lease is somewhere between $150 and $350 per hour, you may easily find yourself paying between $400 and $3000 for the same service if you don’t pay attention to some details.
The sum of this agreement that covers paying money to use land, a vehicle, a building for a specific period, depends on its complexity. Stay with us and learn more about the attorney fees and the most common fee agreements!
Common Fee Arrangements
If the Nolo lawyer you put your trust into reassures you that they will take excellent care of you, yet, they refuse to reveal more details of the payment methods for their services, be very cautious! You should insist on getting more detailed information related to the fees even during your initial arrangement. Most Nolo lawyers who work in the sphere of advising small businesses about their legal agreements use one of the below-listed fee arrangements.
Paying by the Hour
The most common way of paying for your lawyer’s services is paying by the hour. In almost all parts of the USA, you can receive proficient services for you or your small business that will cost you between $150 and $250 per hour
Lawyers typically bill in 6-, 10-, or 15-minute percentage increases. Please note that these are the lowest “chunks” of time your lawyer may bill for, even when a particular task took less time. For instance, your lawyer will charge you 6 minutes even when a phone call or one-in-one talk lasts not more than 2 minutes.
If you feel worried about high hourly costs, you may ask your lawyer to accept a “cap,” or a higher billing sum. That means that always when you reach the “cap” or you are near to it, the billing will end. So, your lawyer won’t work until you approve that he may continue working for you.
Those who run into an immense problem that calls for long hours of legal services provided by a lawyer usually use this option. For instance, if a complex environmentally-friendly problem occurs during your negotiations, such as deinstalling asbestos in your construction, your lawyer might realistically expect a fee over and above the “cap”.
In case your attorney shares his work with a less experienced assistant, secretary, or paralegal, the given work ought to be billed at a reduced hourly rate. However, your fee agreement should include the fees for paralegals and associates if it is expected that they will be a part of the picture.
Paying a Flat Fee
Sometimes a lawyer will offer you a flat fee for a specific type of job. So, it isn’t unusual for a lawyer to offer you to review and analyze your commercial contract for $500. In a flat fee contract, you will need to pay the same sum no matter how much time your attorney will spend on a particular job.
When you have obtained the services of a highly recommended lawyer and the flat fee you are offered is still competitive, grab that deal because it is a superb arrangement. Still, if the assignment you expect your attorney to do for you is open-ended, meaning that it covers long negotiations or exhausting revising, your lawyer won’t accept to work for a flat fee.
If you prefer using a cap or a flat fee, explain to your attorney more about the task he needs to deal with. Provide your lawyer with details and tell them that you run a small business and that you have a limited budget. To get an even better deal, you can also mention that you will also need other legal advice in the future, especially if you are planning to start a new business or you have just started one.
The chance of more rewarding work that is yet to come may motivate the attorney to offer you a more attractive fee contract.
Paying the Lawyer’s Costs
Depending on the lawyers you have chosen, legal services may come at different prices, especially when it comes to lease agreements, as their complexity dictates the sum you will be charged.
So, you can expect your attorney to charge you more than just the rate of their services. Lawyers can charge you for additional costs, such as hiring experts, travel, the time they spent searching online, or for meetings with other consultants.
Sometimes, lawyers will also charge you for making photocopies. So, before you hire your attorney, ask whether all the additional expenses mentioned above are included in the price or you will need to pay for them separately.
Get Your Understanding in Writing
Your attorney should give you all the answers you need to know, especially when it comes to billing you for their services. Be wise and ask your lawyer to write that information on your contract.
An experienced lawyer may not take your demand seriously and will try to persuade you to hire them before you even learn how much they charge. If you feel that your lawyer wants to trick you, be a wolf in a sheep’s coat and show be ahead of the game.
Be smart, play safe, and get your answers in written form, on time!
