I spoke to a lawyer on the phone last week regarding retaining her services for a family law matter. We discussed and agreed on the costs over the phone but I have not been given any documents about this. When should I be given documents by my lawyer?
Lawyer Answers (1): Answers from lawyers are general preliminary responses. They are not formal legal advice and cannot taken account of all your circumstances. They do not create a lawyer–client relationship.
Answer by Andrea Stein, Brisbane 4000 QLD
- A disclosure notice about costs must be made in writing before or ‘as soon as practicable after’ the lawyer has been retained in the matter.
- The disclosure notice must tell the client what basis the legal fees will be calculated including whether a set scale of costs applies to any of the fees.
- The disclosure notice must set out other information about the client’s rights.
- You can also negotiate a costs agreement that sets out how much fees and expenses you must pay.
- The costs agreement should contain an estimate of how much the matter will cost and what variables may affect the final cost.
- Costs agreements must:
- must be in writing;
- must be compliant with common contractual principles; and
- must be fair and reasonable in the circumstances.
- Costs agreements are usually provided to the client at the same time as the disclosure notice.