Hourly Billing and Retainers

When you retain Mackall, Crounse & Moore, PLC, you pay for our time, skills, experience and knowledge. Our hourly fees do not just reflect the time of our lawyers, but also the services of our skilled support staff, the use of our facilities, law library and state-of-the-art computer systems – all resources we use on your behalf.

Unless an alternative billing arrangement is agreed upon, our fees are based on the time we spend on your work, recorded in 1/10 th hour increments. The firm endeavors to have your work performed by the lowest cost person who is competent to efficiently perform the work. Each month, you will receive an invoice identifying the attorneys and paralegals who worked on your behalf during the billing period, the dates on which they performed the work and the nature of the work they performed. The time they record includes conferences with you and among those working on your file, telephone calls, correspondence and necessary travel time. Our invoice also contains an itemization of the costs and disbursements we incurred on your behalf (refer to the Invoices and Payments section of this brochure).

We will spend all the time necessary to properly represent you. However, arrangements can be made with us not to work beyond an agreed-upon amount, and then to review with you the cost of additional work that may be necessary to complete the project.

We annually review our hourly rates to ensure they remain reasonable and competitive. Historically, these rates are adjusted on January 1 of each year. You are entitled to obtain the rates in effect for your work at any time. It is customary for us to request an advance payment before undertaking a matter. The retainer is placed in a non-interest bearing trust account.

Alternative Billing Arrangements

In addition to traditional hourly billing, Mackall, Crounse & Moore, PLC offers alternative billing options. We welcome the opportunity to discuss how an existing or customized arrangement can meet your needs. A popular alternative billing option is a fixed fee arrangement. It is commonly offered when we are able to accurately determine, in advance, a fair fee for your matter based upon the value of our services. Real estate transactions, trademark and copyright matters, incorporations, wills and trusts, uncontested divorces and similar matters are good examples of possible fixed fee arrangements.

At your request, we will consider setting fixed fees in more complicated matters, or segments of matters, if we can clearly define the scope of the engagement before we begin and the value of our services. If you are interested in an alternative billing arrangement, please talk with your attorneys at the beginning of the engagement.

Client Costs and Disbursements

We charge for certain costs and disbursements incurred on your behalf. For example $.18 a copy for photocopy expenses ($.15 for copy projects over 250 copies). In addition, we charge for electronic database usage fees, which can vary greatly from one search to another, but are used to reduce your overall legal expenses. Other costs can include overtime staffing to meet emergency client needs, and out-of-pocket costs such as postage, overnight delivery, courier service and travel costs. We do not otherwise charge for secretarial services or word processing.

Bills for costs we incur on your behalf in excess of $500.00 will normally be forwarded to you for payment. These include local counsel fees, court reporter charges, expert witness fees and investigator charges. We ask that you pay these bills directly to the provider on a current basis. We also may ask you to provide us with checks to clerks of court, or various administrative agencies to cover filing or recording fees.

Invoices and Payments

Our bills are due upon receipt. If you have any questions concerning a bill, promptly notify your attorney so we may immediately address any discrepancies or problems. Your satisfaction is important to us, and we will do whatever we can to resolve a problem in a mutually satisfactory fashion. If part of your bill remains unpaid for more than 60 days, the firm will charge interest on the unpaid portion. See your fee agreement and its attachments for details. In addition, the approval of the firm's collection committee must be obtained before any further work on your matter is performed.

Monthly bills and retainers may be paid with Visa® and MasterCard®. Not only is this convenient, but it is also a great way to earn frequent flyer miles!