Do you hesitate to call your attorney because you know you will be billed for the phone call? Do you avoid face-to-face meetings, planning and strategy sessions with your lawyer out of concern for cost? Do you seek a quick resolution to your legal matter at as low a cost as possible?

 
Lawyers typically charge for their services by contingency fees, fixed fees or by the hour. Some matters, such as bicycle accidents, are appropriate for handling on a contingent fee basis. This means you do not pay a fee unless a recovery is obtained.

Until the late 1950s, some kind of fixed fee arrangement was common in the legal community, often regulated by standard fee schedules. In 1975 the U.S. Supreme Court said fee schedules violated anti-trust laws and hourly billing emerged as the standard method of charging for legal services.

The shift to hourly billing, however, also shifted the economic risk from the lawyer to the client. Gone was a lawyer’s financial incentive to quickly resolve a legal matter because more hours billed meant more legal fees.

I believe hourly billing penalizes a well-run, efficient practice and have chosen to adopt a flat fee system designed to align my commercial interests as a businessman with your interest in minimizing legal fees.

I took the occasion of our country’s declaration of independence to declare my own independence from the shackles of the billable hour.

Legal fees will vary depending upon individual circumstances and I will quote you an all-inclusive fee to handle your matter from inception to conclusion. Contact me at 918-582-1414 or at malcolm@malcolmlaw.com for an office consultation