Our Goal:

At MICHAEL J. BERGMANN, LLC, we strive to provide our clients with a high quality of legal service in a timely manner and for a reasonable fee.


What Is a Reasonable Fee?

In determining what is a "reasonable fee", the firm considers a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:

• The nature, complexity, and urgency of the prospective client's legal matter;

• The value of the legal service(s) being rendered for the client, from a non-legal perspective;

• The firm resources which will be consumed in the handling of the prospective client's matter;

• The amount necessary to cover the firm's operating expenses and a fair profit while working on the prospective client's legal matter;

• The prospective client's perception of what is or will be a "reasonable fee"; and

• What other law firms are charging for the handling of a legal matter of that sort.

Written Fee Agreement.

This firm provides all of its clients with a written fee agreement regarding the legal services to be rendered and fees and expenses to be charged in the the handling of their legal matters, with two exceptions: (1) if the fee is likely to be $500.00 or (2) if the firm has previously represented the client and has an established fee arrangement.


Smaller Billing Increments.

Many law firms bill their clients in one quarter (1/4) of an hour increments on matters being handled on an hourly fee basis. This firm bills attorney time in one tenth (1/10) of an hour increments on hourly fee matters.


Itemized Fee Statements.

Many firms do not provided their clients with itemized fee statements. This firm provides its clients with detailed, itemized fee statements. On hourly fee matters, this firm's fee statement will show the date of service, the legal service rendered, the firm member who provided that service, the amount of time which he or she expended, his or her hourly fee rate, and the fee charged for that particular legal service. Regarding matters handled on a flat fee basis, this firm provides its clients with the same sort of itemized statement, however, the time and hourly fee rate of the service provider are omitted insofar as the fee for each service is a pre-established, fixed figure.


Willingness to Discuss Fees.

This firm's attorneys discuss with prospective clients, at the initial consultation, the terms and conditions under which this firm would be willing to undertake the client's legal matter. The firm has established fee schedules for regularly-requested business, estate planning, probate, and real estate matters. As the firm's attorneys and their clients discuss the legal services which the client is considering, the schedules are made available to the client so that he or she can make an informed decision about legal work which he or she may like to have done.

Litigation Fees.

The firm's attorneys ordinarily prefer to handle, on an hourly fee basis, any legal matters which will likely involve an unpredictable amount of time due to their nature (such as contract negotiations and litigation).

Notwithstanding that general preference, the firm's attorneys are frequently willing to handle, on a contingency fee basis, claims, disputes, and litigation in which the client or his or her family members have suffered any injury(ies), death, property damage, or significant monetary losses because of someone else's negligence or intentional wrongdoing. A "contingency fee" arrangement is one in which (1) the attorney's fee will be a percentage of the damages recovered through settlement, mediation, arbitration, or litigation (lawsuit), and (2) the attorney will be entitled to that fee only if the client recovers any such damages.


Contingency Fees Cases.

Most law firms charge a fee of THIRTY THREE AND A THIRD PERCENT (33-1/3%) or more of the damages recovered in contingency fee cases, regardless of whether they had to expend additional time and resources in litigation. This firm undertakes many contingency fee cases for (1) TWENTY FIVE PERCENT (25%) of the damages recovered, if the claim is settled before a lawsuit has to be brought, and (2) THIRTY THREE AND A THIRD PERCENT (33- 1/3%) of the damages recovered, if the claim is not resolved until after a lawsuit is started.


Probate Estate Fees.

Mr. Bergmann provides all of the firm's Probate clients with a good faith fee estimate before they engage the firm so that they can make an informed decision about hiring this firm.


In contrast, Mr. Bergmann ordinarily charges his clients the lesser of (1) the fees calculated using the proper adjusted percentage approach or (2) the fees calculated by multiplying the time expended by Mr. Bergmann and his staff by their respective hourly rates. Using this approach, Mr. Bergmann has found that his firm has frequently been able to save his clients thousands of dollars on estates requiring full administration, as compared to what they would have been charged by firms using an unadjusted percentage-based approach.


Expenses.

The client is responsible for any expenses directly relating to and incurred during the handling of his or her legal matter. As a convenience to the client, this firm may periodically cover expenses pertaining to the client's legal matter, however, the client remains responsible for those items and is expected to reimburse the firm upon the billing attorney's request.


Willing to Answer Questions.

Mr. Bergmann is willing to answer any questions about the client's fee arrangement with the firm and/or any bills sent to the client, as they arise. If you have any questions about any of the topics addressed on this web page or would like any additional information about the firm's fee arrangements or billing practices, please do not hesitate to contact us.