Section 1
Contingency-
The client is only charged if they win
their case. There is a predetermined
percentage of the recovery that the client owes their
attorney as payment. My firm does a ton of
contingency cases and we take one third of the recovery.
Flat Fee-
The client is charged a certain predetermined
fee, regardless of the amount of hours
put in and who is doing the work.
Hourly-
The client is charged by the hour, and typically
receives a monthly invoice. The hourly
price can depend on who is doing the work so an attorney
would charge more hourly than a
paralegal.
Section 2
Advantages-
You are more able to choose the cases
that you work on. You can also work on a
more flexible schedule. You are a business owner and
so that gives you more independence
than if you were employed at a firm.
Disadvantages-
As a business owner you have more responsibilities
that include getting
business, maintaining business relationships, marketing,
etc. A lot of law firms have paralegals
on staff so there isn’t always a need to contract
a freelance paralegal, which can make it difficult
to find work. Additionally, since you’re freelance,
you lose all stability in knowing when your next
paycheck is going to be and how much.
Section 3
State Attorney General Office-
Violations of state
law including political corruption, police
corruption, organized crime, money laundering, and
racketeering
Public Defender’s Office-
Criminal defense of indigent
defendants
Legal Aid Office-
Domestic violence, family law, housting,
and public benefits
County Prosecutor's Office-
Misdemeanor and felony
crimes, narcotics, child protection and
delinquency, consumer protection, sexual assault,
and domestic violence
Private Family Law Practice-
Marriage dissolution,
paternity, child custody, protection orders
against domestic violence, name changes, guardianship,
termination of parental rights,
adoption, juvenile matters, emancipation, and approval
of underage marriages
Section 4
Paralegals help to maintain accurate billing statements
by firstly billing their time correctly and
note exactly what they are doing. They can also look
through the invoices before they are sent
out and see anything that may have been over billed.
So if a certain task typically takes an hour
to complete, but was billed for three hours, they
can double check with the person who billed
those hours to make sure that the client is billed
for the proper time.
Section 5
Functions of a successful billing system include:
keeping a detailed record of all billable time
and expenses, knowing what each person is contributing
to the case and making sure that is
billed correctly, being able to explain to the client
exactly where their money is being spent, and
having a system in place for keeping track of expenses
that the entire office uses correctly.
Contingency-
The client is only charged if they win
their case. There is a predetermined
percentage of the recovery that the client owes their
attorney as payment. My firm does a ton of
contingency cases and we take one third of the recovery.
Flat Fee-
The client is charged a certain predetermined
fee, regardless of the amount of hours
put in and who is doing the work.
Hourly-
The client is charged by the hour, and typically
receives a monthly invoice. The hourly
price can depend on who is doing the work so an attorney
would charge more hourly than a
paralegal.
Section 2
Advantages-
You are more able to choose the cases
that you work on. You can also work on a
more flexible schedule. You are a business owner and
so that gives you more independence
than if you were employed at a firm.
Disadvantages-
As a business owner you have more responsibilities
that include getting
business, maintaining business relationships, marketing,
etc. A lot of law firms have paralegals
on staff so there isn’t always a need to contract
a freelance paralegal, which can make it difficult
to find work. Additionally, since you’re freelance,
you lose all stability in knowing when your next
paycheck is going to be and how much.
Section 3
State Attorney General Office-
Violations of state
law including political corruption, police
corruption, organized crime, money laundering, and
racketeering
Public Defender’s Office-
Criminal defense of indigent
defendants
Legal Aid Office-
Domestic violence, family law, housting,
and public benefits
County Prosecutor's Office-
Misdemeanor and felony
crimes, narcotics, child protection and
delinquency, consumer protection, sexual assault,
and domestic violence
Private Family Law Practice-
Marriage dissolution,
paternity, child custody, protection orders
against domestic violence, name changes, guardianship,
termination of parental rights,
adoption, juvenile matters, emancipation, and approval
of underage marriages
Section 4
Paralegals help to maintain accurate billing statements
by firstly billing their time correctly and
note exactly what they are doing. They can also look
through the invoices before they are sent
out and see anything that may have been over billed.
So if a certain task typically takes an hour
to complete, but was billed for three hours, they
can double check with the person who billed
those hours to make sure that the client is billed
for the proper time.
Section 5
Functions of a successful billing system include:
keeping a detailed record of all billable time
and expenses, knowing what each person is contributing
to the case and making sure that is
billed correctly, being able to explain to the client
exactly where their money is being spent, and
having a system in place for keeping track of expenses
that the entire office uses correctly.
