Costs of Legal Services
Initial Consultations; Availability of Hourly, Contingency and Flat Fee Agreements
1. Do you charge for the initial consultation?
Yes. A $50.00 fee is collected for the initial 30-minute personal consultation. Such charges only apply to in-person consultations. In most instances, however, initial consultations take place by telephone; there is no charge for consultations transacted by telephone.
2. How much do you charge for your services?
The vast majority of the firm's casework is done on an hourly rate. As of August 2007, Mr. Buhrow's hourly rate is $175.00 per hour.
3. Do you take cases on contingency?
The firm accepts only a limited number of personal injury cases. Personal injury cases are the only cases taken on contingency, without exception.
4. Is there ever a time that a contingency agreement is "not" better for the client?
There is "never" a time that a given item will "always" be ideal in every situation. While there are advantages to a contingency fee agreement, there are also factors that caution against a contingency fee agreement. While it is true that (1) the client is not required to pay for legal services by the hour under a contingency fee agreement and (2) the attorney only gets paid if the client prevails on his/her case, there's every possibility that the client could ultimately pay far "more" to his/her lawyer under a contingency agreement.
A contingency fee agreement generally entitles the attorney to 30-40 percent of the recovery, and that percentage doesn't change based on the amount of time it took the attorney to get the matter resolved. If, for example, a particular case settled for $30,000.00, an attorney on a 30-percent contingency would receive $9,000.00 of the recovery - even if it only took 2-3 hours to settle! There are, of course, many factors that go into the decision whether or not a contingency fee agreement is best under the circumstances.
As a general rule, our office encourages clients "not" to enter into a contingency fee agreement if the client can possibly afford the hourly cost of such services. While the contingency client might not be paying the lawyer along the way, he/she will all-but-certainly pay more in the end.
Any potential client should discuss such options with the prospective attorney in the course of deciding which agreement is most appropriate under the circumstances.
5. How much will it cost for you to represent me in a case?
There is simply no way of predicting the total cost of providing legal representation in any given lawsuit. This is based in large part upon three factors unknown at the outset of the attorney-client relationship:
(A) How hard the opposing party will fight the suit,
In an ideal world, the opposing party would simply acquiesce in your every demand, but the real world seldom works that way.
Many times, the financial capacity of your opposing party plays into how vigorously the opposing party will oppose you in litigation. A common but unfortunate practice for wealthy defendants who have no true defense, for instance, is to create enough work for the opposing party (i.e., for the plaintiff) that it becomes financially impractical - if not financially impossible - to complete the case.
(B) How much discovery will be required in order to prepare the matter for trial, and
The parties to any lawsuit are entitled to conduct a certain amount of discovery into the matter, and to thereby gather evidence in support of or refuting the disputed issues. Generally speaking, "discovery" refers to interrogatories (where one party asks written questions for the other party's response - made under oath), requests for production (a request for documents), requests for admissions ("admit/deny that [X] is true"), requests for disclosures (which requires, among other things, an explanation of claimed damages, identification of potential witnesses, and generally the factual and legal bases for the lawsuit or the party's defense thereto) and depositions (where testimony of parties and/or witnesses is taken under oath for use at trial).
The discovery process can be both time consuming and expensive, but the information acquired in discovery is positively critical to effective presentation of your case, as well as to compromise/settlement negotiations.
(C) How quickly the court can get you to trial.
The various courts serving large population centers like Dallas and Fort Worth all have a high number of cases on their dockets. Despite best efforts on the part of the courts to expedite resolution of their cases, the sheer size of their respective court dockets makes it difficult to get a trial as quickly as most clients would like, particularly taking into account time spent in discovery (above).
Although times vary widely, an ordinary civil case with damages exceeding $10,000.00 seldom, if ever, get a trial setting earlier than nine months after initial filing of the lawsuit. It is far more common for such a lawsuit to go to trial 12 - 18 months after a lawsuit is initially filed.
There are additional factors that go into calculating how much legal representation will cost in a given lawsuit, but because there is no way of predicting how much time a given dispute will take to resolve, there is similarly no possibility to accurately reflect the total amount of legal fees to be incurred in the course of any lawsuit.
6. Does the firm offer flat-fee agreements?
For "litigation" clients:
Given the unpredictability discussed in the previous question, very few lawyers offer to charge a set amount for legal services incurred incident to a lawsuit. Under limited circumstances, our office will offer clients legal services for a one-time flat fee, but such flat fee agreements are limited to completing specific acts only (e.g., preparing a pre-litigation demand letter to an opposing party) and are never available for cases in which a lawsuit has been filed.
For "business formation" clients":
Yes. The firm has specific prices for establishment of a limited partnership, a limited liability company, a corporation, or any other business entity. Our price includes all state filing fees, attorney fees, and creation of all applicable corporate books. As decisions of this nature are invariably more about tax and financial planning than about legal issues, the price we charge similarly includes - and in fact mandates - consultation with our consulting financial and tax advisor.
Commonly Asked Landlord-Tenant Questions
Security Deposits
1. I recently moved out of my apartment, but my landlord hasn't returned my security deposit. It's been more than 30 days; I could use that money. What do I do?
AND/OR
I recently moved out of my apartment. My landlord is refusing to refund any of my security deposit because he/she/it contends that my apartment required significant cleaning and/or repair in order to make it ready for the next tenant. The place was clean when I left. What do I do?
Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code requires the landlord to refund any security deposit paid incident to an apartment lease within 30 days of surrender of the apartment. If any deductions are made from the security deposit, the landlord must particularly account for and/or itemize such deductions. If the landlord fails to do so within the 30 day period, he/she/it surrenders his/her/its right to make any such deductions. Short story: If the landlord doesn't return the security deposit and/or account for deductions within 30 days of your departure, you're entitled to a "full" refund of the security deposit.
You have the right to dispute any deductions that the landlord might make from your security deposit. Prior to doing so, however, you should carefully review your lease to identify what deductions, if any, are authorized by contract. Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code does not permit deductions for "ordinary wear and tear" caused to the apartment in the course of your residency there. Many landlords attempt to pass the customary costs of preparing an apartment for the next tenant (e.g., ordinary cleaning costs, painting of the walls, replace carpeting). To the extent such items are "ordinary wear and tear" - and are thus not caused by offensive or abnormal use of the apartment - the landlord should not be entitled to deduct the cost of such items from your security deposit.
Security deposit disputes are commonly resolved by a justice of the peace in small-claims court; in most instances this judge is the same person who hears eviction cases. While it is always advisable to have legal counsel represent you, small-claims courts routinely work with persons not represented by legal counsel. If you are unable to resolve the situation informally, you could file a lawsuit with the small-claims court.
Apartment Repair Issues
2. I live in an apartment that has serious mechanical problems. I've asked my landlord to fix them, but he/she/it hasn't taken care of it. What do I do?
Section 92.056 of the Texas Property Code allows tenants to make repairs and deduct such costs from future rent payments under certain circumstances and provided the tenant follows a very particular procedure before making the repairs.
First, a tenant can only avail him/herself of statutory "repair and deduct" remedies where the premises defect "materially affects the safety and/or health of the ordinary tenant." Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 92.056(b)(2). While there is much room for argument as to what is "material" and what issues will affect an ordinary tenant's safety or health, suffice it to say that mere cosmetic repairs - although critically important to most tenants - fall short of that threshold.
Second, the law requires that before any such repairs be undertaken by the tenant (by a properly qualified service provider), the tenant must first afford the landlord a reasonable opportunity to repair the defects. As such, the tenant must first notify the landlord - in a writing sent by certified mail, return receipt requested - of the issues requiring repair, in addition to stating the tenant's intent to effect such repairs and to thereafter deduct the cost of such from future rent, failing the landlord's timely correction.
In order to comply with statutory procedure, the tenant must notify the landlord in the manner described and thereafter allow the landlord at least seven days to effect such repairs. While the facts of a particular case might dictate otherwise, the law assumes seven days to be a reasonable period of time to effect such repairs.
If the landlord fails to effect the repairs following proper notice, the tenant is entitled to either (1) make the repairs - up to $500.00 maximum in one month - and deduct such amount from the following month's rent; or (2) unilaterally terminate the lease, receive a refund of the security deposit, and seek various monetary penalties from the landlord.
Tenants wishing to avail themselves of statutory repair and deduct remedies should first consult with legal counsel before endeavoring such. As discussed, the nature and severity of the repairs needed may not allow these remedies, and failure to give proper and timely notice prior to making the repairs will nullify the tenant's ability to invoke these rights. Consider as well that most landlords resist unilateral rent deductions for any reason. Should the tenant invoke this procedure under improper circumstances, or fail to fully comply with statutory procedure, a tenant may be found in breach of the lease and therefore evicted.
Eviction Notices
3. I came home to find a three-day eviction notice posted on the inside of my door. Do I really have to move out in the next three days? What if I don't?
A landlord's three-day eviction notice is not itself an eviction. Only the courts can evict a tenant, which can only happen following a trial for which the tenant has notice.
The three-day eviction notice is instead a notice required by law that notifies a tenant of the landlord's intent to seek eviction through the courts. Simply put, if a landlord fails to deliver such a notice (which can be delivered or posted in various manners specified by law), the landlord cannot receive an eviction from the courts.
Should a tenant fail to vacate the premises within three days following delivery of the three-day eviction notice, the landlord may thereafter file a lawsuit for forcible entry and detainer in the local justice of the peace court. As with any lawsuit, the landlord's lawsuit must be properly served upon the tenant in order for the lawsuit to proceed to trial. The lawsuit, when served upon the tenant, will state the date of the trial, which must occur between 6 and 10 days after the tenant is served with the lawsuit.
Should the trial result in an eviction ("possession") being granted to the landlord against the tenant - and whether or not money damages are awarded to the landlord - the tenant has five days to appeal the ruling to the county court at law. Should the tenant not avail him/herself of the mandatory right of appeal within that five-day period - which has its own particularized procedure - the landlord can thereafter apply for and receive a writ of possession. The writ of possession empowers an appropriate government official to come to the tenant's apartment unit and personally see that the tenant and his/her personal effects are immediately removed from the premises.
While the eviction notice is not itself an eviction, a tenant in receipt of an eviction notice shouldn't rest on his/her laurels and think everything's okay. Some situations can be successfully resolved between the landlord and tenant, thereby averting further legal action and preserving the landlord-tenant relationship. However the situation might proceed, immediate contact with legal counsel is entirely appropriate following receipt of an eviction notice.
