I’m thinking about finding a lawyer, (attorney) that will help me with basic questions such as student loans, car buying contracts, etc… What type of fees do you think is reasonable? Is this what people mean when they say: to retain a lawyer? Also, if I find a lawyer that will help me with such, meaning I can call him or her at anytime reasonable and ask for him or her to look over a contract, will I have to pay a monthly fee or is it based on the work, or is it monthly fee plus hours work? Please help.
Free consultant..? What’s that. Do they follow the fiduciary rule? Do they work in my best interest? Thanks. I will definitely look in to it.
Tags: answer, basic, charge, having, Lawyer, much, Questions, should
why not try a free consultant first
There are prepaid legal services that provide members with benefits. You might want to look into one of those programs.
There is a monthly fee of $15 or $19 dollars and you get so many hours each year with an attorney and discounts.
Essentially, an attorney’s value is based on 1) his experience; 2) his ability to find answers in the law; and 3) his time.
An attorney will charge you the reasonable value of his time.
So … what is reasonable? … Reasonable is whatever you and he agree upon. I know that the attorneys (depending on the areas of law) charge anywhere from $125 – $400 per hour (general areas) depending on the nature and complexity of a matter. And this includes, not only time you spend with him/her, but time on the phone, and time researching your question.
While an attorney may require a retainer (deposit) to be applied against his fee, he will almost never charge a monthly fee. Or, he and you could agree to a “flat fee” for particular services.
In your case, you seem to be seeking basic legal advice on a myriad of matters. In your case, and based on the nature of the issues listed, you may be the RARE case where a prepaid legal plan might be a useful alternative. (Indeed, you are the first person I have ever seen articulate a use for such plans that would be useful and cost-effective).
The pre-paid legal services might be your way to go. In essence, you get an 800# to contact a particular law firm (in your area) to ask for legal advice. All you do is pay a small ($15 – 18) fee per month for “unlimited” assistance. However, you can usually only call them ONCE on any one particular issue.
For example, if I have a problem with my cellular company and want to get advice on my legal options I can only call ONCE on this particular problem. They won’t let me keep calling (50 times) to get ongoing legal advice on this same issue.
As well, there are occassions when they might refer you to another lawyer outside of their firm. They do this if there is a conflict of interest. I was refered to a guy who said he only got $50 (from the pre-paid firm) for helping me. Thus, he didn’t want to be very helpful.
These pre-paid legal things can also give you discounts on hourly fees (for prolonged advice) and they usually offer to type up a will for you for free.
Just do a search on pre-paid legal. You’ll likely have a rep in your area that you can talk to. He can explain the program to you in about 5 – 15 minutes. He’ll earn a commission from selling you this service. So, be careful re: pressure from him.
It depends on what you mean by “basic”.
Most lawyers charge by the hour, based on how much research they need to do, and how familiar they are with the issues.
Asking a question about general contract theory is different than determining if a particular contract is enforceable as worded. It also matters if the attorney has recently addressed the same issue, in which case the current law is fresh in their mind, versus something they need to research in depth before answering.
Having an attorney on retainer is common, and many attorneys will accept a monthly amount for some estimated number of hours of work. It’s all negotiable between the attorney and client.
you’ve just explained prepaid legal services.
for more informoation:
http://www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/millionairehoy
they provide Unilimited consultation
prepaid court time for certain issues
free will and anual updates
helps against moving traffic violations
unlimited contracts reviewed up to 10 pages each per
Identity theft protection is optional
and many many other things
Regular consultation costs several hundreds of dollars an hour. Free consultation is usually only free for the first call after that you’d better un and get your check book. Prepaid legal only sponsers the best firms and to be considered for sponsorship they must have atleast an 80% case winning rate. When you ask a question with Prepaid legal they provide an attorney that specializes in that area of law. It’s really a no brainer here as many others have said.
http://www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/millionairehoy