How fees work

How every fee is set

There is one flat fee per case and no hourly rate. Find your charge, and read what it covers and what it leaves out.

Municipal or misdemeanor case
One case in municipal or county court. The level of the charge sets the fee, and a municipal offense costs less than a misdemeanor.
- Discovery requested and read, video included
- Every hearing up to a plea, a dismissal or a ruling
- Written advice before each court date
- Plea talks with the prosecutor
Felony case
One felony case in district court, from the preliminary hearing through motions and plea talks.
- A written case plan after we read discovery
- Preliminary hearing prepared and argued
- Motions to suppress written and argued
- One investigator trip to the scene
Jury trial
Added to the case fee once a trial date is set. Quoted in writing after we have read the evidence; a felony trial costs more than a misdemeanor trial.
- Jury selection, opening and closing, and every witness
- Trial preparation meetings by video
Ask about trial
Record sealing
One petition for one arrest or conviction. A petition covering several cases is quoted before you sign.
- A written review of your record
- Petition and supporting papers prepared and filed
- The hearing, if the court sets one

Paid to others

What a flat fee does not pay for

These go to courts and other businesses, not to us. We tell you the amount of each before it is spent, and none is spent without your yes.

Court filing fees
Charged by the court when a petition or motion is filed.
Fines and restitution
Set by the court or agreed in a plea. We help you understand the number first.
Bond
Paid to the court or a bonding company to be released while the case is open.
Experts and lab retests
An outside lab, a forensic accountant or a medical expert, when a case needs one.

The money

Yes. Misdemeanors are paid in three monthly parts and felonies in four. The schedule goes in the agreement you sign, with dates.

If the prosecutor amends the charge to a different level, the fee for that level applies, and we tell you before the next court date, in writing.

The agreement says what is owed if the case ends before the work is done. You read that before you sign, not after.

Yes. It is twenty minutes, by phone or video, and you owe nothing for it. If you hire us, the fee is the one in your agreement for your charge.

Send the charging papers on a free call, and we will quote the fee in writing.