Legal Fees: Helping the Fully-Informed Consumer Meet Her Legal Needs

“All Clients have the right to a clear and simple explanation of our work and how fees are charged.” – Law Office of Bruce Godfrey, Client Bill of Rights ¶2.

UPDATED February 2012: the Law Office is creating a new, simpler fee list for clients’ benefit.  Please stay tuned.

In the spirit of helping clients and prospective clients understand how the firm does its work and charges fees, the Law Office of Bruce Godfrey has published on its website a basic list of fees describing some of the services provided by the Law Office and how fees are calculated and charged for those services.

Historically, attorneys were reluctant to publish lists of their fees out of the concern that such lists would be considered “unprofessional” or reflective of the practice of law being a “mere business.” The Internal Revenue Service has opined that law firms, when run other than as non-profits clinics, are businesses; the Internal Revenue Code states that we are businesses. Law firms set prices (we call them fees), invoice, make accounting statements, economize and survive amidst a highly competitive market.

There’s nothing wrong with stating that a law firm should not be only a business – we are ideally a learned profession and we are servants of the courts – but it is definitely a business in the mind of the IRS – which, let’s be frank, runs this country.

Clients have the right to know early, up front and clearly how fees are charged; this principle is embodied in the Law Office’s Client Bill of Rights. It is the hope of the Law Office that this list will help clients and prospective clients take away some of the unease and uncertainty around legal fees, for the benefit of themselves and, if they choose to enlist our help, the Law Office’s legal services business.

Posted by Bruce Godfrey

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