Policies and Fees
Mr. Handford is dedicated to providing personalized, attentive, confidential, and economical legal services to his clients. In order to remain most responsive to his existing clients, new prospective clients may either call or email for an initial telephone consultation, or to make an appointment for an initial office consultation. Initial office consultations are without charge unless the prospective client authorizes work on their matter to begin immediately. Initial consultations at the prospective client's location are subject to a fee to be agreed upon beforehand.
Generally, matters can be undertaken for a flat fee or billed monthly on an hourly rate. For clients desiring a flat fee, the amount of the fee and the specific tasks to be undertaken will be agreed upon before starting work. For clients on an hourly billable basis, Mr. Handford will provide a monthly detailed invoice which describes the work done, the date it was done, and the time spent on the work (summarized daily). The actual time spent on a matter is billed, rounded up to the nearest 10th of an hour. All the time that an attorney spends on the matter will be billed, including document review, interviews, research, court or clerk's office time, analysis, drafting, telephone conversations, letters, emails, and in-person conferences. Outside costs and expenses, such as filing fees, outside photocopying, or travel costs, are normally paid by the attorney and then billed to the client. Advance payment may be required, however, for certain large or extraordinary costs. Mr. Handford does not mark up any outside costs. In-office overhead, such as routine photocopying, faxes, long-distance telephone charges, or local automobile mileage is included in the flat fee or hourly rate. Mr. Handford's hourly fees presently range from $215.00 to $265.00 per hour, depending on the matter.
A retainer may be required for certain matters billed at an hourly rate. A retainer is a sum of money provided to the attorney before the start of work. Mr. Handford holds such retainers in a non-interest bearing account in trust for the client in accordance with state law and bar association directives. The client is otherwise billed normally for services and expenses. The retainer is used for the final invoice and if the final invoice is more than the retainer, the client is billed for the remaining amount. If there is retainer remaining after the final invoice, it is returned to the client. Flat fee matters may be paid for in advance, but such payments will be kept in trust until the work is completed.
In matters where a client is seeking a money recovery from another party or parties, Mr. Handford may offer to take the case on a contingent-fee basis. The client will then be responsible for paying outside costs and expenses which will be invoiced monthly, but no attorney fees will be due unless and until there is a recovery for the client. The attorney's fees due will be equal to a percentage of the final recovery. In all cases, Mr. Handford will enter into a written agreement with the client which clearly sets forth the fees and work to be done.