Guide to Hiring a Lawyer in Oregon
A lawyer can do more than help you when you're in trouble. The best time to contact a lawyer is before you have a legal problem. Getting advice before a problem arises can save you time, stress, and money. It can also stop minor issues from growing into big problems.
This article will help you understand what a lawyer can help you with, the costs of hiring a lawyer, and how to find the right lawyer for your legal matter.
What can a lawyer help me with?
Here are a few examples of things a lawyer can help with:
- Family matters: Assisting with family changes, like divorce, caring for an elderly parent, raising someone else's child, or dealing with the death of a family member.
- Housing issues: Addressing problems with your landlord or the home you rent or assisting with more complicated real estate transactions.
- Injuries. Recovering money if you get injured at work or in a car accident.
- Immigration. Immigrating to the U.S. or staying in the U.S. after you've immigrated here.
- Civil injustice. Correcting injustices like discrimination or retaliation.
How much does a lawyer cost?
According to a recent Oregon State Bar report, the median hourly rate for an Oregon lawyer is $325. Hourly rates vary from attorney to attorney based on:
- Location: Attorneys in rural areas often charge less than attorneys in the Portland Metro area.
- Practice area: Lawyers specialize in issues ranging from divorce to real estate transactions to estate planning. Hourly rates vary by practice area.
- Experience: More experienced lawyers charge higher hourly rates.
The total hours an attorney might spend on your legal matter also vary based on:
- Type of case: Some cases can be resolved quickly, while others take longer. The longer the case drags on, the higher your bill.
- Scope of work: You can hire a lawyer to draft documents, like a will or an estate plan, or you might hire a lawyer to handle your entire legal matter. Hiring a lawyer to do everything for you tends to be much more expensive.
Tip: It's important to be realistic about the total cost of hiring a lawyer. Hourly fees add up quickly. Hiring a lawyer could cost anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000 (or more) depending on the type of case and scope of work.
Lawyer billing practices
When you hire a lawyer, it's important to understand how they bill for their work. These are some common ways lawyers bill:
- Hourly fee: The lawyer bills you for each hour of work they do in your case. You'll agree on the scope of their involvement, but there usually isn't a limit to the total hours they'll spend on your case. This type of fee arrangement is commonly used in contested court cases, like divorce, custody, or landlord-tenant disputes.
- Fixed or flat fee: You pay a set fee for the lawyer's work. This fee structure is commonly used when lawyers prepare paperwork for you, like a will, business documents, or even paperwork for an uncontested divorce.
- Contingency fee: You only pay your lawyer if you win your case. If you win, they'll take a percentage of the money you won or deduct their total hourly fee from the amount you won. This fee arrangement is typical in personal injury cases, civil litigation, or Social Security disability claims.
- Sliding scale: A few lawyers and firms reduce their standard rates based on your income so that each client pays a custom rate based on what they can afford.
- Free legal services: Some lawyers don't charge for their work. These lawyers may have government contacts or grants that allow them to help people without much money. Some lawyers also volunteer their time to provide free services.
Lawyer specialties
When looking for a lawyer, you'll want to find one specializing in your legal issue. Here are some common lawyer specialties and the problems they can help with:
- Criminal defense lawyers help people charged with crimes or who've gotten in trouble with the law.
- Family law lawyers help with divorce, custody, adoption, child guardianship, restraining orders, and other family matters.
- Landlord-tenant lawyers help landlords and tenants with rental housing issues. These lawyers often specialize, with some focusing on helping tenants and others specializing in assisting landlords.
- Immigration lawyers help immigrants move to or remain in the U.S.
- Elder law or estate planning lawyers help with planning for death, health problems, or mental incapacity. They help people write a will, set up a trust, and more.
- Bankruptcy lawyers help with money and debt problems and filing for bankruptcy.
- Disability lawyers help people get Social Security disability benefits and other disability-related issues.
- Personal injury lawyers help people injured by someone else, like in a car accident.
- Employment lawyers help employees or employers with workplace issues. These lawyers usually specialize, with some only helping employees and others helping employers.
Step-by-step guide to finding a lawyer
Here are some ways to build a list:
- Ask around. Talk to your friends and family to see if they can recommend any lawyers. But keep in mind it's important to find a lawyer that specializes in your legal issue. Your friend's divorce lawyer may not be able to help you draft a will.
- Call Oregon's lawyer referral service. This free service can connect you with lawyers who can help with your legal issues. All the lawyers in this service are in good standing with the Oregon State Bar (the body that licenses Oregon lawyers).
- Use Google. Use search terms that describe the kind of lawyer and the location, like "divorce lawyer Clackamas County" or "landlord-tenant attorney Portland."
You can narrow your list of attorneys by:
- Checking the lawyer's discipline history. Check that each attorney is in good standing with the Oregon State Bar (the entity that regulates lawyers in Oregon). You can look up lawyers in the OSB lawyer directory to see if they have a discipline history.
- Reading online reviews. You can find reviews for attorneys on websites like Avvo or Martindell-Hubbell. If you google a law firm name, you can also find Google reviews about the business.
Many lawyers offer free or low-cost initial consultations. Schedule at least two consultations so you can get a sense of how different lawyers might handle your case.
Tip: When you schedule a consultation with a lawyer, it's important to clarify whether there will be a charge for the consultation. Is it a free consultation for a limited time? Or perhaps you will be charged the lawyer's hourly rate.
During your consultations, ask questions like:
- What experience do you have handling cases like mine?
- How strong of a case do you think I have?
- What would be your strategy for handling my case?
- What recommendations do you have for me in this situation?
- What's your hourly rate?
- Do you require an initial deposit? If so, how much?
- What kind of things do you bill for?
- If I hire you, will other people also work on my case? If yes, who and what are their hourly rates?
- Can you explain the expected costs, including filing fees and expert witness fees?
- How will you bill me for the work you do? Will I get billed monthly, will this be a contingent fee, or will I get a single bill at the end of the case?
- Can I set up a payment plan?
- How much can I expect to pay in total legal fees? (Remember, this is just an estimate, and your lawyer isn't bound to this number.)
Consider the lawyer's attitude, how quickly they respond to you, and their experience. You'll also want to consider their billing practices and recommendations for handling your case.
If you hire a lawyer, the lawyer usually asks you to sign a written agreement. If your lawyer doesn't do this, ask them to prepare a simple agreement for you both to sign. It is helpful for you and your lawyer to be on the same page about fees before the case starts.
A written fee agreement should include:
- Scope of work: A description of the services or assistance the lawyer agrees to provide you.
- Billing practices: Information about how the lawyer will bill you, how often you'll get a bill, and hourly rates for the lawyer, their associates, paralegals, and other staff. If your lawyer holds unearned money in trust (like a retainer payment), the agreement must say you're entitled to the return of any unearned money.
- Deposits, fees, and costs: Information about required deposits, the amount of deposits, and other fees or expenses you may need to pay during the case.
Getting a written fee agreement can help avoid misunderstandings later on. A good lawyer with a well-established legal practice usually has a standard fee agreement for you to review and sign.
Tip: Read the entire agreement! Make sure you understand what you will be billed for and what work your lawyer is agreeing to do. Ask your lawyer any questions you may have about the agreement.
If you understand and agree with the lawyer's terms, you must sign the lawyer's agreement and pay your lawyer.
- Hourly billing: Your lawyer will probably expect you to pay a "retainer deposit." This deposit is placed in a special client trust account. Your lawyer can't touch the money until they do work for you and bill the account. If they don't use up all the money, they have to return it to you at the end of your case or if you stop working with them.
- Fixed fee: Your lawyer will usually expect you to pay the fee up-front before they start work in your case. Some lawyers will allow you to make payments or pay a portion of the fee at the end.
- Contingency fee: You usually don't have to pay your lawyer any money up-front. Instead, you pay if they win your case. They'll deduct their fee, as well as costs and expenses, from the amount you win.