Billing options
In general, three billing options are available:
When fees are charged according to statutory tariffs, the amount depends on the value in dispute and the specific legal services provided. The value in dispute is the amount claimed in court proceedings.
If no specific monetary amount is claimed — for example in injunction proceedings — the value in dispute is determined by the claimant.
An example:
|
Value in Dispute |
EUR 1.000,00 |
EUR 75.000,00 |
|
Court hearing 1 hour |
EUR 115,90 |
EUR 853,40 |
|
Phone call 5 minutes |
EUR 17,50 |
EUR 141,50 |
In this context, it is irrelevant whether the court hearing actually lasted only 18 minutes. The fee therefore depends on the value in dispute, not on the actual time spent.
If no specific fee agreement is concluded, billing is carried out according to the statutory tariff.
When billing is based on time spent, we charge for the actual time required to handle your matter. This includes, for example:
-
Working on your case (reviewing files, legal research, drafting letters and pleadings, etc.)
-
Phone calls and meetings (with you, the opposing party, courts, authorities, etc.)
-
Hearings and appointments (court hearings, inspections, expert examinations, etc.)
Our hourly rate is EUR 360.00, billed in 10-minute increments. If a court hearing lasts only 18 minutes, we charge EUR 120.00 (net).
A flat fee is agreed where the scope of work can be estimated with sufficient certainty. This is often not the case, as the required effort depends on many factors that are frequently outside our control.
Court proceedings, for example, may be concluded quickly if the opposing party fails to appear or if a settlement is reached. The same type of proceedings can also take several years if multiple instances are involved. For this reason, flat fees are typically not suitable for litigation. We do, however, frequently offer flat fees for contract drafting and review.
In addition to the agreed fee, out-of-pocket expenses and statutory VAT of 20% are charged. Out-of-pocket expenses include, for example, court fees, copying costs, travel expenses, and archiving fees.
In addition to our fees, statutory value added tax (VAT) of 20% as well as out-of-pocket expenses are charged.
We discuss in detail which billing option is most suitable for your situation. Individual fee arrangements are, of course, also possible.
Cost notification
Upon request, we will inform you as soon as our fees reach a predefined amount. For example, we can contact you by phone or email each time fees reach EUR 2,500.00.
This helps protect you from unexpected costs and allows you to maintain full control and transparency over legal fees.
Legal expenses insurance
Billing through a legal expenses insurance policy is also possible. For this purpose, we require the name of the insurance company and the policy number. In many cases, partners and children are also covered under the same policy.
Before we begin working on your case, we contact the insurer to clarify whether our fees are covered. Once coverage has been confirmed by the insurer, we commence our work. In urgent cases, we can of course act on your behalf with your consent even before a formal coverage confirmation has been issued.
The insurance company reimburses costs according to the statutory tariff. As explained above, in cases involving very low values in dispute, reimbursement under the tariff may not be sufficient to cover the actual work involved. In such cases, we charge based on our hourly rate.
Any reimbursement paid by the insurance company is deducted from our invoice. You will remain responsible for a self-contribution, comparable to the co-payment required for private medical treatment.
Yes, but…
Recovery of costs
As a general rule, the party who instructs a lawyer is also required to pay that lawyer’s fees. In civil court proceedings, the losing party is additionally ordered to reimburse costs.
For example: If EUR 20,000.00 is claimed and the court fully upholds the claim, the defendant will be ordered to reimburse the claimant’s procedural costs. This includes attorney’s fees according to the statutory tariff, court fees, and out-of-pocket expenses.
However, this principle is subject to many limitations. If EUR 20,000.00 is claimed but the court only awards EUR 10,000.00, only half of the out-of-pocket expenses will be reimbursed. Attorney’s fees must then be borne by the party themselves.
If the court awards less than half of the claimed amount, you may even be required to reimburse part of the opposing party’s costs.
As a result, court proceedings always involve a certain cost risk, which can never be completely excluded.
In many types of proceedings, no cost reimbursement is provided at all, for example:
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proceedings before administrative authorities
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custody and maintenance proceedings involving minors
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in part, labour and social security court proceedings
In criminal proceedings, even if the accused is acquitted, only a limited lump-sum contribution toward defence costs is reimbursed.
Legal aid
If you are unable to afford a lawyer, you may apply to the court for legal aid. In such cases, you may be exempted from court fees, witness fees, expert fees, and similar costs. Under certain circumstances, a lawyer may even be appointed for you.
However, legal aid only covers your own costs. If you lose the court proceedings and are ordered to reimburse costs, you are still required to pay the opposing party’s costs, despite having been granted legal aid.
“It is unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little.
When you pay too much, you lose a little money — that is all.
When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the job it was bought to do.
The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot — it cannot be done.
If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you take.
And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.”
John Ruskin, 1819-1900
Book an appointment!
Every case is different. The best way forward is to review your situation together and clarify your options. We are happy to advise you at our office, by phone, or online via video conference.
Simply call us at +43 (0) 5552 62091 end us an email, or book an appointment online.