As an experienced Florida disability attorney who has handled thousands of complex disability cases since 2005, I am continually amazed that many lawyers still have not abandoned what I consider to be the dinosaur of billing method – the billable hourly rate.
Why Would You Hire An Attorney At An Outrageous Hourly Fee When You Can Hire The Same Attorney For a Small Percentage Of The Recovery With A No Recovery, Zero Fee Guarantee?
As a consumer, I recently had the opportunity to consult with a lawyer on a trusts and estate matter that was well out of my area of expertise. I was looking for a will or revocable trust. I was shocked to learn that many of the attorneys that I contacted were charging fees ranging anywhere from $500 to $1,000 per hour.
Moreover, I would be billed per hour for each attorney working on the case. That meant that if I went to a conference with 5 attorneys, I could end up with a bill for that would cost up to $5,000 an hour!
It was therefore no great surprise when I recently read in an attorney trade journal that billings at many of the large law firms are way down and clients are seeking alternatives in fee arrangements. It appears the day of excessive hourly legal billings is going out of style and if those lawyers don’t adapt, then they may end up without future clients.
For my entire career, I have believed that an attorney should be rewarded if he is successful in obtaining a good result for his client. That means if there is no recovery, there should be no fee; and if there is a recovery, the lawyer should be entitled to a small percentage.
I believe that attorneys who work on a contingent or contingency fee basis perform a valuable service to the public because they take cases that poor and middle class clients could not otherwise afford to bring.
I find that most clients dislike paying high hourly attorneys’ fees and that they like to tie their lawyer’s compensation to performance. It gives him added incentive to produce great results. Obviously, a contingent fee lawyer has an incentive to work harder on a case where he stands to earn a percentage of the recovery as a fee.
How We Handle Fees at the Ortiz Law Firm
At the Ortiz Law Firm, we are dedicated to helping people recover the disability benefits they deserve. We handle group long-term disability (LTD) claims, individual disability insurance policy claims, ERISA disability claims, and Social Security Disability claims.
We thoroughly screen and investigate each of our potential cases to evaluate its merits. If we decide to accept your case, we will fully dedicate our resources towards a favorable recovery. If we don’t win, you don’t have to pay us a fee.
If you would like to have a free case evaluation to learn more about our no recovery, zero-fee guarantee, please call us at (888) 321-8131.
