Litigation FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Litigation
Brief explanations of how we handle your case, how our legal services are billed, and how our hourly rates are determined.
How should I expect my legal matters to be handled by your law firm?
Throughout our representation of you, we will endeavor to handle your legal matter competently and diligently in accordance with the highest standards of our legal profession. The successful outcome of your legal matter will always be as important to us as it is to you.
In litigation matters, we will vigorously and loyally advocate for your position, within the bounds of ethics. We will give you our independent professional judgment and undivided loyalty, uncompromised by conflicts of interest.
We will keep you informed as to the status of your legal matter and will provide you with copies of incoming and outgoing communications and other important documents related to your case.
We continually employ the latest technology in our practice to assure both the quality of our legal work as well as our availability to you when you need us.
Our policy is to treat our clients with genuine courtesy and consideration at all times. We agree to return your telephone calls promptly. If we are unavailable when clients call us, we endeavor to return all telephone calls the same day or within 24 hours.
How are your legal services billed?
In many matters, it is most efficient to bill on an hourly fee basis. In that way, you pay only for the amount of services actually required and used.
We charge hourly fees at our standard hourly rates, which are based on criteria for reasonableness set forth in the applicable rules of professional conduct, which include the experience and skills of the attorney performing the services, the time, effort and skill required to perform the services properly, the novelty and complexity of the issues, the time constraints imposed by the client or by the nature of the matter and the nature of the results achieved.
In certain cases we can offer other types of fee arrangements, such as contingent fees, hybrid arrangements, capped fees, and fixed-fee arrangements.
How are your hourly rates determined?
The hourly rate depends on each attorney’s experience, area of practice and other credentials. Cheaper is not necessarily better when it comes to your important legal matters. A more expensive lawyer with a lot of experience may be able to handle a complex problem more quickly. Also, an experienced attorney will be able to better estimate how many lawyer-hours a particular matter will take to resolve. Our ranges of hourly rates are competitive with other firms employing attorneys skilled in commercial and financial litigation.
How long do litigation and arbitration matters take?
Court lawsuits generally take longer, from start to finish, than do arbitration proceedings. However, the majority of both lawsuits and arbitrations settle, and they do not require a trial or arbitration hearing.
Once the critical facts of a case are developed in discovery, the issue is often able to be satisfactorily resolved through mediation or other alternative dispute resolution procedures, which minimize the legal expense and risk associated with litigation and arbitration. Some cases, however, are unable to be settled and require trial. For that reason, it is important that you hire attorneys who have experience in the type of legal matter you are involved in, and who are not hesitant to take a case to trial when necessary.