If you are in the market of a lawyer, then you should be prepared to spend the right amount of money to have proper legal defense during your trial or proceeding.
An attorney can be paid a flat fee by the case or they can be paid via an hourly wage. In this article, we’ll go over the figures for attorney fees at the high, medium, and low ends for hourly and flat rate fees.
Average Lawyer Fees Per Hour
Lawyer fees typically range anywhere from $100 an hour at the lower end to $300 an hour at the higher end.
New attorneys and those that don’t have much experience in the realm of the case you are working justify the lower rate but still have a high cost as a result of the pure legal expertise they bring to your case.
On the other hand, that $300 an hour attorney likely has years’ worth of experience in the case realm as well as the legal expertise to help you out during your legal proceeding or trial.
Additionally, they may have access to greater resources in the court system as a result of their extensive connections thanks to the time they have spent as a practicing attorney in that specific area.
Average Lawyer Fees As A Flat Fee
Standard legal fees can cost anywhere from $1,500 to $3,000 for misdemeanor cases while more complex cases that deal with child support and custody battles can hit $5,000 or more.
Additionally, hiring a high-quality attorney in the misdemeanor space can also fetch high sums purely thanks to the attorney’s influence in the field of law they are working in. For example, a substandard attorney in DUI claims can cost around $1,500 while a higher-end attorney can fetch around $5,000.
The major difference is that the more expensive attorney will have a better chance of getting your case thrown out thanks to their legal expertise as well as connections in the system.
Whether you go with an hourly rate or a flat fee, you have to decide whether the cost of an attorney is more valuable than the cost that you will have to pay down the road if your attorney does not do a good job in your case.
Weighing these options can give you a better idea of whether you go with a high-quality attorney or a more affordable yet not as successful lawyer.