One of the first things you should request once you hire your attorney is a proposed budget. The proposed budget should outline the costs associated with each phase of the lawsuit. Below is a list of line items which should be included in this proposed budget:
• Overall Case Assessment
• Fact Development Costs
• Experts or Consultants Costs
• Document Management Costs
• Settlement Costs, including settlement amount
• Pleading Preparation Costs
• Motion Costs, including document preparation and appearances at hearings
• Written Discovery Costs
• Document Production Costs
• Deposition Costs, including preparation, document preparation and Transcriber fees
• Expert Discovery Costs, including expert’s fees and document preparation
• Witness Preparation Costs, including experts fees and document preparation
• Trial Preparation Costs (attorney and staff preparation time)
• Pre-Trial Document Preparation Costs, including exhibit preparation and copy fees
• Trial Attendance Costs, including any staff attendance which will be billed
• Post Trial Costs, including documents preparation, hearings, and submission costs
• Expenses, including copy costs, postage, printing, fax charges, telephone or long distance charges, travel expenses, witness fees, court fees, subpoena fees, expert fees, trial exhibits, mediator’s fees, and any other fees the firm is expected to pay up front on your behalf.
Your attorney should be able to project, or estimate, how much each phase will cost if the case proceeds as planned. This is a good tool that will help to keep you informed about where your money is expected to be spent. This will also help your attorney stay focused. The proposed budget is a guideline of proposed costs and should not be used as a final cost for any aspect of the case. If you are not sure what each item entails, ask your attorney to define each term. With this guideline you can better understand how to budget your own money to cover the various costs as they become due.
Some Money Saving Tips you will find in the book:
READ YOUR BILLS, all of them, every last line. Make sure all entries are related to your case. There are instances when something is erroneously miss-billed. Mistakes happen. Watch for such mistakes on your bill.
Pay your bills, on time. Be a “good” client and keep up on your bill. If the attorney – client relationship breaks down, it will cost you far more in the long run. Especially if you have to hire another attorney!
Create a friendly relationship with the secretary or paralegal. If you call the attorney with a question, the meter starts running, but you might call the secretary and possibly receive answers to your questions without being billed for the call.
When calling the office, have a list of questions written down. Plan ahead, don’t call on a whim. Know what you want to know, ask it, and hang up.
