I hear the horror stories of business owners engaging lawyers and law firms with disasterous results -- mostly due to the billable hour fee.  Do emerging and maturing businesses ever engage lawyers on a fixed monthly fee basis or would they find such an arrangement of interest?
214791
Yes, some businesses retain lawyers for a fixed amount per month, it's called putting the atty on retainer.  In my experience, retainer agreements are most common where there is an established relationship -- where the company has been working for the atty for a while, so the atty can figure roughly how much work the client needs per month, and there is established trust between both sides.  But that doesn't mean it couldn't work with an atty you haven't worked with before, you'd just need some of the basics agreed upon beforehand.\n\nThere is no set amount or set approach; areas of negotiation are, (i) the amount of the fee, (ii) how many hours maximum will the atty be required to put in per month (it wouldn't be fair for him or her to get $500 and then be expected to give you 20 hours of work), and (ii) if you don't use the atty or use the atty minimally in a given month, do you get a credit against next month's retainer?\n\nLet me add something that I'm sure will rub some of my colleagues the wrong way, although I think there is growing acceptance of this idea....  Legal services for small companies are largely becoming commoditized.  There are a lot (I don't know if too many, but a lot) of lawyers now, and information (which in the end, is one of the few things a lawyer really has to offer) is just so widely available to everyone over the internet.  What this means is, there will probably more acceptance to your proposition than there would have been, say, 10-15 years ago.
146927
It is normal business practice to offer to settle for whatever the company thinks it will have to spend (in terms of legal fees, experts, discovery, employee and executive time) to win the case.  If you have a very good case, it is also normal to add a risk premium to the amount (i.e., offer more money because they might lose).\n\nIf a meeting has been arraigned, it means they will make a serious offer.  That is neither good nor bad, but it is a start.  If you have an experienced lawyer, he will advise you whether the offer is reasonable under the circumstances.  Your choices will be to accept it, reject it, or make a counter-offer.  If their offer is close to the right amount, a counter-offer would probably be the best choice, but it is impossible to properly evaluate in the abstract.
128529
I recently retired from the real estate business in Central Florida after 27 years. For the past two years I have been offering free business mentoring services to young entrepreneurs. I can offer a variety of small business ideas depending on your personal interest and abilities. I will also make myself available for consultations by email or phone. I do not charge for these services.\n\nI must tell you that it is very difficult to get any (legal) business into a positive cash flow position that would be equivalent to your full time job. Most businesses take at least a few months to a year or more to start generating that kind of income. Can you afford to wait?\n\nIf you want to know more, please feel free to write to Bruce at boatclub@go.com . I will you help if I can.
292734
I think you first must try to resolve the matter directly with the restaurant before you can pursue suing them.  Most businesses would be responsive and would pay your medical bills, maybe a little more.  But in order to sue, your injury must have been significant, or no lawyer would take the case on a contingency basis (for about 1/3 of your award.)  If you sued via paying the lawyer an hourly rate, you would be chancing losing that amount of money.
411622
Usually depending on the size of your business it is a good idea to let the company attorney do these contracts for you but you can do this yourself. Do the contract in simple terms that you can understand basically stating the services that you will provide for the cost that they will pay
643697
I think you are wrong in any eyes.   I would think that they would give you a break and take monthly payments.  I also think they would find it less expensive compared to them paying a lawyer.
465480
I've tried many so called "opportunities" in the past in which I had to pay money to get involved only to find out that I had to give more money to stay involved.\n\nI have been involved with this company about a month and I like it very much. There are NO sign-on, enrollment, maintenance, or other hidden fees at all. That's very impressive to me. I finally found a company that gives you free enrollment, free website, free accounting software, and free support.\n\nIf your interested in this rare opportunity, please e-mail me and I will set you up today and you can start your business today.
10166
Lawyer pay is all over the map. Right out of law school some graduates make six figures at their very first jobs. Those people graduate from top tier law schools and they ranked at the top of their class. They also had good clerkships with big firms during law school.  $100,000 is the benchmark starting salary in the large firms under those conditions. That's really only a small percentage of attorneys - for everyone else the ranges are much lower. Many attorneys start by working as a governmental attorney (for a municipality, a state or federal agency, etc.) Those folks might start in the low 40s. Of course you have to start somewhere.\n\nThis is question that is frequently asked.  A lot of people assume that what a lawyer charges is what he makes.  Wrong!  Revenue is not income, in any business.  An attorney's hourly rates certainly drive his / her income - but you have to consider that lawyers have business overhead as well - rents, computers, staff, etc.  Most law firms are happy with a profit margin of 50%.  Super litigation firms with big contingency matters do much better when they win big.  \n\nNow, as time goes on attorneys make more money, and possibly a lot more money. The goal of private practice attorneys is to become am equity partner, which means they share a piece of the firm’s total income. The bigger the firm, the bigger the slice of pie, the bigger the income possibilities. It’s not uncommon from a partner in a good law firm to make $250,000 or more. Every firm has a different compensation system that generally tries to pay people while promoting certain aspects (client development, professional development, etc.)  Compensation is one of the biggest gripes in any law partnership.  There is no perfect system and everyone does it a little different.\n\nIn law the heavy hitters make much more, some hit a million a year. Litigation is an area with a lot of upside, so partners in litigation firms can make more than partners who practice in a less profitable practice, like family law or traffic tickets.  There is also a big downside.  If you work on contingency and you lose, you make nothing!  That's why being part of firm is good, you get more protection than if you are a solo.\n\nBottom line - the legal industry is huge and so is the variance in pay from attorney to attorney.  Some make a mint, others make pennies.  Don't buy the television view of lawyers.  Many lawyers spend all day pouring over contracts or leases.  Not too exciting, and not a million bucks a year.\n\nThere are a lot of legal publications and legal consultants who do annual surveys.  Check out Altman Weil - I run a large firm and I buy their reports every year.
42210
Lawyer fees and filing fees.  The filing fees are for the courts so you can't control that.  The only aspect you can control is the lawyer fees.\n\nThere are many aspects that have to be researched..whom you owe, how much, their legal claim, collaterized, etc.\n\nAlso they have to figure out the mechanism for disbursal of assets and have a person in charge of that process.\n\nLots of complexity and tasks that need to be done to implement the bankruptcy.  The more parties involved the more expensive it will be.
40029
Assuming that your lawyer is engaging in ethical conduct, all unearned fees paid by a client must, by State Bar rules, be placed in trust for the client until earned.  Regardless of what the retention agreement states, your attorney may not keep fees not earned by her -- and the burden of proving that the fees were, in fact, earned is on her.  Presumably, if your attorney as a reasonable person, and you mention that you intend to pursue the matter further (for example, contacting the State Bar), settlement arrangements could be made.  No attorney wants to be sanctioned by the State Bar, and misuse of client funds is the Number One reason that attorneys are suspended or disbarred.  Best of luck to you with a difficult situation.
325226
Once I wrote in a forum, that they sponsored, and got a reply from Tom asking me if I would be interested in being a regular writer on their team, but I declined.  I used to be a stockbroker with a large firm and I wrote about why I thought the average large stock brokerage firms overcharged for the dismal advice that their stockbrokers, who actually are nothing but overpaid salesmen, gave.  I didn't want to get in the middle of a lawsuit with my employer.  After-all, they have more money for lawyers than I have.  But the threat of lawsuits is how they keep the truth sequestered.\nThe Motley Fools boys seem to do their homework, but in the end, I haven't seen anyone say that their stock picks are better than anywhere else. Learn why someone recommends something.  Don't just place a bet.  In investing there is an old saying, "ride your winners and sell your losers".  Like many other advice columns, they tend to brag about their winners and keep quiet about their losers.
409285
Attracting clients when getting started in any business can be a challenge.  In Southern California there is an organization called BNI :  Business Networking International.  They have groups that meet weekly in different communities with the sole purpose of meeting other professionals and discussing needs and talking about their specific businesses.\n\nI understand that they only have one of each profession in each group, so your challenge would be to find a group local to you that would have an opening for an attorney.  \n\nCheck the BNI website and then see if there's a group near you where you can visit or get information.\n\ngood luck
213938
The US judicial system functions in such a way that allowed the legal profession to become a lucative career. There is no regulation of legal fees and law firms can charge whatever they think you can pay. \n\nThough a common complaint, I think it is a major generalization to say that all lawyers are out to screw people because I know quite a few who aren't.\n\nJustice in the US is like anything else. You need to be white, male, well-connected and wealthy to have it work your way. Otherwise you need to know your rights (which is more than most Americans will ever manage) do a lot of work and spend a lot of money in hopes that your lawyer is not a bottom feeder in someone else's pocket.
582385
Your lawyer may have been looking at everything correctly I'm sad to say.  You're obviously suing for money damages.  Your attorney was probably working on a contingency basis (taking a percentage of what the final verdict/award is).  Then, during the scope of investigations he finds there are no "deep pockets"... no money to gain.  Odds are, if the business that hit you has no insurance, then they have no assets of any value to take.\n\nThat being said, if all you're looking for is to get a judgment, then you can always find an attorney willing to take the case.  However, you will end up paying on an hourly basis... with a HEFTY retainer, and NO guarantee of a favorable outcome.\n\nThe potential is always there (as well), that you could get the award you're looking for from a judge or jury, and this "business" could always run and file a chapter 7 bankruptcy, and again... you'd get nothing.\n\nThere is no point in suing if the other person has nothing (which I suspect was the point of your attorney dropping your case).  Check with your state's bar association though... his actions (dropping the case) may have violated some rule of professional conduct.
496006
It will cost you about $300/hr. (That's US Dollars.) You can expect a bill to be anywhere from $1500 to $30,000 for the attorney. As for where to find one in your area, I'm sorry but I don't know. However, call ANY lawyer in the phone book and ask for a referral. They can tell you where the imigration lawyers are.
325053
i went to the local community college, they had lawyers who volunteer a few hours of their time a week to help answer questions, draw up documents, etc. i'd try that first, if not go to sba.org and there might be some good info on there.
56169
I used to work for a firm that had a complex computer system where notetaking and time recording took more time than actually doing the work.  Then I worked for a place that had flat fees, then if for some reason the client or the attorney got fired, it would be billed to the 10th of the hour.  That never happened.....\n\nI finally settled on a flat fee based on the time a case of the sort would normally take, taking into consideration the time periods for easiest and most difficult cases and averaging it out based on my expertise and experience and I come up with what I think is fair.  I raise prices when I think my skill is greater or the process becomes more time consuming.  Although the easy cases end up being a little expensive and the hard cases kinda cheap, it ends up balancing out.  If for some reason the work does not get completely done, I'll refund based on percentage of the case actually done.