Beaumont Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 So, I am in the middle of what I would consider to be a small trial. 2.5 days for trial. 6 pre-trial depositions. Case has been pending for about 1.5 years. A simple car wreck more or less. Only one expert witness on my side (accident reconstructionist, i.e., engineer). I have tried to prep this case fairly economically. 2 lawyers at the trial for my side with no paralegals. By the end of trial my side will have spent about $25k. I was surprised, as I would have thought we could have gotten here for $15k. Regardless, thought I would share this. Its really hard to economically fight over less than $25,000 in today's world, as the legal fees and expenses quickly dwarf the amount in dispute. My hourly rate is in line with most lawyers who do this sort of work -- they range from say $125-$200/hour in Texas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 The law can follow health care then - pushed out of reach of most. Actually, the law has long since been off limits to most people because of the colossal bankrupting costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo mama Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 So, I am in the middle of what I would consider to be a small trial. 2.5 days for trial. 6 pre-trial depositions. Case has been pending for about 1.5 years. A simple car wreck more or less. Only one expert witness on my side (accident reconstructionist, i.e., engineer). I have tried to prep this case fairly economically. 2 lawyers at the trial for my side with no paralegals. By the end of trial my side will have spent about $25k. I was surprised, as I would have thought we could have gotten here for $15k. Regardless, thought I would share this. Its really hard to economically fight over less than $25,000 in today's world, as the legal fees and expenses quickly dwarf the amount in dispute. My hourly rate is in line with most lawyers who do this sort of work -- they range from say $125-$200/hour in Texas. That's really not that bad. It's at least 10 times that to litigate a significant case in the US Tax Court. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 well, the more money is at stake, the more both sides will spend on lawyers and such. if not much money is involved, you have small claims court and the like. anything involving significant personal injury the stakes are automatically high enough that both sides are likely to get adequate legal representation. I happen to think lawyers are PLENTY accessible in our society. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Sacrebleu Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Of course all of your billable hours consulting your expert, Mr Thehuddle, probably increased the bill slightly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furd Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 anything involving significant personal injury the stakes are automatically high enough that both sides are likely to get adequate legal representation. I happen to think lawyers are PLENTY accessible in our society. Lawyers are accessible, no doubt. But as far as getting a decent lawyer to represent you in a personal injury case, I think that the key word is significant. In many circumstances, particularly in professional negligence cases, people who experience moderate or sometimes even serious injuries or losses have little chance to receive compensation. Many plaintiff's medical malpractice lawyers that I know won't take a case unless they believe that it has a settlement value in excess of 200 or 250 thousand dollars. Getting back to the costs of trials, I tell business clients in certain cases that they should expect a minimum of $25,000 (or more) in forensic accounting expert fees - more if we go to trial. Throw in attorneys fees and that $60,000 business loss becomes a lot more palatable. I can't take any case of any substance to trial for under $25k in fees. (My rate is $325/hour) A moderately complicated case is going to cost you $50k just to get you to trial. I billed a client that I'm representing in a sexual abuse case $35k last month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrumjuice Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 This is why there is a cottage industry of sue happy jerks with this as their living. Slip, sue. Get bump in traffic, sue. Get $5-10K, look for another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 do you trade certain things for compensation, a friend of mine has a movie "do you do windows" that had a facinating plot and the main actor was a texas lawyer that liked FFB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 do you trade certain things for compensation, a friend of mine has a movie "do you do windows" that had a facinating plot and the main actor was a texas lawyer that liked FFB I :heart: lawyers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 I am very lucky. I am really good friends with our corporate lawyer for our group and get all sorts of free legal advice and assistance. When it came time for us to do up our wills and trusts for the kids he called his buddy and we got a fantastic deal. Both the wife and I had our wills drawn up and a special needs trust established for the kids for $600. I was surprised to see how thick the documents were, they will up a 3 ring binder with barely enough space to close it. Additionally, we get 1 free consultations and update to both the will & trust per year (not to exceed 5 hours worth of work). The average quote we received from other attorneys was $1400 to $1800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cre8tiff Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Small claims court is easy, though. Most people simply become idiots when appearing before a judge. My wife and I took someone to small claims court once, and she decimated them. Of course it helped that the guy started off his argument by saying, "Mr. Cre8tiff did an excellent and professional job." BOOOOM On a side note my wife's cousin is a lawyer and in recently in trial he got to say what every lawyer wants to say to an opposing witness; "So, are you lying now or in your previous testimony?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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