Before starting Enara Law I worked in various positions in the business, politics, and legal industries. Some of the highlights: my work as a corporate executive (COO & General Counsel) to a company that had a multi-million dollar exit, experience in a judicial clerkship and with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), lobbying Congress on behalf of various special interest groups in Washington DC, as well as work as a private sector attorney.
One of the most unfortunate realities of the legal profession (which I learned the hard way) is that many attorneys are money motivated, and accordingly many firms incorporate minimum billing quotas on their attorneys to ensure they are maximizing their billings of clients. At Enara Law we strive to work efficiently and only bill for actual time spent on your matter, without the underlying motivation of meeting a quota to pad hours or earn a bonus.
Generally flat rate engagements are most cost effective to a client, and shares the risk of excess work between the lawyer and client. Even if the flat fee may seem like high, when properly priced, it generally benefits the client from regularly overlooked aspects of legal fees, which can become expensive with an hourly engagement (such as legal research, drafting, editing, filing, etc).
As attorneys are advocates by trade, it’s not shocking that many will advocate for their own best interest. Many cases operate based on volume, meaning their goal is to sign any and all clients that come through the door. One of the most common means is to offer a client a false sense of security in their case as if it’s a “slam dunk,” only to bill the client and bear the bad news in the future about the futility or weaknesses of a case, only after the attorney has billed the client for an extended period of time. At Enara Law, we pride ourselves on our utmost transparency, telling our prospective clients what they need to hear, not what they want to hear just to get their business.
This is another common tactic attorneys use to get prospective clients to sign with them. By oversimplifying a matter or its timeline/process to success, many attorneys attempt to appear to have a streamlined process to success. The reality is that the legal process is engrained in process; the legal system itself is designed to offer all individuals a uniform process to utilize the judicial process in their pursuit of justice.
In most jurisdictions, the state bar will have a publicly accessible search database of licensed attorneys and if they have been subject to any disciplinary action as a result of violations of the rules of professional conduct (ethics) for lawyers. It’s best practice to always run a search of an attorney and their disciplinary history before engaging an attorney, so you can make the most informed decision about your representation.
As with most professions, individual attorney rates vary based on a variety of factors. Some of the most common include seniority, experience, skill, expertise, and the market they operate in. As you can expect, a more senior, experienced attorney’s rate will be greater than one of a relatively new attorney.
One costly aspect of legal fees which is commonly overlooked is communication. Regularly at traditional law firms, it’s like a game of “telephone” — where one person who spoke to you, will then talk to someone else, who will then relay the information to another person, who then discusses it with yet another person (and undoubtedly, things get lost in translation, leading to the need for a follow up discussion with you) — in an extended loop, with the client paying for each and every conversation. At Enara Law, we strive to have the team of attorneys working on a matter on calls — which may reflect as multiple billings for the same call. This is intentional, to reduce the amount of message relay; so that each person on your team has firsthand knowledge, with the opportunity to ask any relevant questions, and most importantly, to operate efficiently and leading to lower costs for clients.
It’s near impossible for any attorney to honestly answer this question. There are however phases of litigation which cost more than others; at initial pleading stage and discovery, you can see spikes in all areas of litigation.
Like any other services utilized, paying your bill is important. If you don’t pay your electric bill, the power shuts off. While a lawyer cannot harm your case or your interests by withdrawing from your matter, an attorney can seek to disengage as your lawyer for failure to pay your bill. An attorney may also pursue any amount still owed as of the time of disengagement.
Your engagement with a lawyer ends when the matter is settled or concluded, or at the time your engagement is terminated by either you or your attorney.
Enara Law grows in accordance with the feedback provided by our clients. We are always eager to hear what we did well and what we could improve upon. We welcome our clients to leave a review on Google of their experience, so that others can hear about your experience working with us.
Ready to protect your brand and trademarks with expert legal guidance? Contact Enara Law today to schedule a consultation. Our team is dedicated to helping you navigate the complexities of trademark law and safeguard your brand’s identity and intellectual property.