1. on a contingency basis;
2. on an hourly basis;
3. on a fixed fee basis.

Contingency fee cases are generally limited to consumer litigation, personal injury cases employment cases, worker's compensation cases, and civil rights matters.  In these types of cases, there is some expectation that you will receive some financial award either by settlement or by judgment from a court or jury.

In contingency fee cases, the attorney assesses whether or not he or she believes that you have reasonable chance of succeeding.  If the attorney feels that you do have a reasonable chance, the attorney may take your case by investing his or her time without a fixed payment from you up front.  Basically the attorney is counting on being paid from a percentage of any award which you receive from a settlement or from a court.  In some cases there is a cap or limit on the percentage or the dollar amount that an attorney is permitted to charge.  You should ask the attorney if there is such a limit and what it is.  In most personal injury cases, there is not a limit on what the attorney can charge.  If your case is lost, the lawyer is paid nothing for his or her time.

Hourly cases are different.  Attorneys charge an hourly rate for most standard routine matters.  The amount your attorney charges per hour will be determined by a number of factors.  The most important factor is his or her experience in the type of matter for which you are being represented.  Another factor will be the generally accepted charges for similar matters in your legal community.  In most hourly cases, your attorney will request that you pay a retainer fee up front against which the attorney will bill his or her time.  When your attorney is charging you an hourly rate, you should always ask your attorney to periodically provide you with an itemized statement of the time which he or she has expended on your behalf.

Fixed fee cases.  Sometimes, attorneys will charge a fixed fee.  That is, a one time lump sum payment.  Attorneys charge a fixed fee for standard routine matters such as wills, deeds, the search of a real estate title, representing you in a simple bankruptcy, drafting a basic contract, traffic offenses, or minor criminal matters. These are some but not all of the examples of tasks for which an attorney may charge you a fixed fee.

Whenever you believe that you need an attorney, you should discuss attorney's fees during your first conference with the attorney. You must clearly understand the way in which the attorney intends to bill you for handling your legal matter. You should expect to sign an agreement with your attorney regarding fees so that both you and your attorney have a clear understanding of what to expect. In some cases, a contract of representation between you and your attorney is not required.

You should never be afraid to discuss attorney's fees or to negotiate attorney's fees with your attorney at the beginning of your representation. Having a clear understanding between you and your attorney on the issue of fees will assure a good working relationship between you and your attorney.

Generally, Hyde & Swigart Charges Attorney Fees As Follows.

Below are guidelines to help you anticipate what might be expected of you with regard to attorneys’ fees.  However, because we want to help you if you need us, we can sometimes be flexible in these arrangements.  If you feel you need some flexibility, be sure and discuss this with us during your first consultation with us.  Keep in mind that we never charge anything for a case evaluation.

Consumer Cases (Debt Collection Abuse, Debt Negotiator Lawsuits, Cases In Which We Represent You Suing Others) – These cases are taken on a contingency fee basis,  Our office pays the costs up front with the expectation that we will be reimbursed if we prevail.  We keep track of the attorney fees incurred and attempt to have the opposing party pay them.  In these cases, if we do not prevail you are not expected to reimburse us.  In that situation, we waive the attorneys’ fees and costs.