It is sometimes wrongly said that consulting a lawyer is too expensive. The lawyer is thus sometimes considered as a solution of last resort. However, the lawyer should not be reduced to a role of “emergency lawyer”. In an information society where advice, good or bad, proliferates, and where legal advice sites provided by non-lawyers (called “law pirates”) abound, only lawyers are able to advise you and to help you act in legal matters, in complete confidentiality and ethics .
Everything you need to know about how much a lawyer costs
It is sometimes conveyed the idea that a lawyer is expensive, insofar as access to the Profession requires years of advanced intellectual and technical studies and the obtaining of certified skills.
The objective reality of the facts in terms of cost tends to show the contrary, because the rates for consulting lawyers are rarely higher than those charged by medical specialists on an equal basis.
For a consultation with a lawyer in an office of about thirty minutes, count between 50 and 150 euros on average, an average cost comparable to the specialist doctor who keeps you for about fifteen minutes in consultation.
It should also be noted that in certain branches of law, it happens that lawyers offer the first consultation to their firm (free legal consultation).
Clear rates with no surprises for the first consultation
On Avocat.fr, you can make contact with lawyers whose rates are more or less high (they vary according to the field of activity, the reputation of the firm, the expertise, etc.). The choice of your lawyer should not be based solely on fees: depending on the nature of your problem, it is sometimes preferable to choose a lawyer with all the characteristics that you consider to be key in the defense of your interests, even if the cost is higher. Nevertheless, in order to facilitate access to the law, lawyers have devised innovative solutions on Avocat.fr with simple, transparent and accessible pricing for the first levels of support: from €20 for a telephone consultation of around ten minutes with a lawyer, from€50 for a consultation in a law firm near you, from €15 for a written legal question answered by a lawyer
Consulting a lawyer often avoids very costly mistakes
This accessibility of lawyers allows individuals and entrepreneurs to anticipate and avoid errors whose legal consequences can be serious. There is indeed a real “hidden cost” linked to the fact of not being advised and defended by a lawyer… a cost that most of those who have made this choice pay tenfold afterwards! Indeed, many of our actions in our personal and professional lives actually constitute legal acts, conventions and contracts, which in essence therefore have legal consequences whose financial, patrimonial and human implications can be extremely heavy.
How much can it cost to have signed a contract without having first been informed and advised on the legal effects involved? How much can it cost to give a guarantee, security, deposit, without being aware of what you are committing to, and for how long? According to the matrimonial regime or the type of PACS, what would I be committed to if I divorce or if the PACS breaks up? How much can a clause that I have badly drafted in a commercial contract cost my company? What are the implications of an association in a commercial company?
In practice, the examples are legion: the added value of the lawyer will therefore be to enlighten you, optimize your interests, and guarantee your legal certainty . On this last point, it should also be noted that by consulting a lawyer, you are covered, even in the event of a breach on his part: all the lawyers have in fact taken out professional civil liability insurance which makes it possible to compensate their clients in these cases. of figure.
Much more than a simple “litigator” or a “legal emergency doctor” who defends you in Court when you face a difficulty, the lawyer is to the Law, what the doctor is to Health: an adviser and a partner of confidence, which helps you to prevent and anticipate. The advice of lawyers that will be provided to you will allow you to fully analyze and assess the legal issues of your case, as well as its financial implications and the advisability or not of initiating proceedings (which can be long and costly) . When you have a doubt or a health problem, you consult a doctor. Do the same in legal matters when you have a doubt, a question, a problem, a dispute, an act to draft: have the “lawyer reflex”, consult a lawyer (by meeting himat his office near you , or remotely by telephone , or by written question .
After the first consultation, when the client mandates the lawyer to undertake a certain number of actions (whether formalities, drafting of a contract, summons, negotiation, a defense strategy, etc.), the lawyer will offer his client a fee agreement : this is a contract which makes it possible to set in writing the terms for fixing the cost of the service. This agreement, which can be seen as an estimate signed by both parties, allows the client to know how much his lawyer will cost him, in complete clarity and transparency. This agreement may be based on four methods for setting fees:
