Some information about the lawyer costs

I appreciate my clients´ interests to keep their lawyer fees in a due proportion to their financial interest in their case. However, contingency fees are allowed only in exceptional cases. Foreigners seeking legal representation in Germany should also note that apart from labour disputes the defeated party is always liable for all costs resulting of a law suit. Such costs also include the court fees and the reimbursement of the counterparty´s lawyer fees.

In Germany, lawyer fees are commonly assessed according to the regulations and the fee scales as provided in the German Lawyer Fees Act (RVG). The value of the matter and the kind of actions taken serve as a basis for their computation. Thereby, the fee amount cannot be expressed as a fixed percentage of the matter value because the fee scales provide a considerable degressive effect: The higher the value the lower is the fee proportionally.

The fee assessment according to the RVG makes the remuneration question independent of the lawyer´s work input, renders predictability concerning the costs and prevents manipulation attempts by the lawyer. Upon a respective application by the client, the correctness of the fee assessment may be submitted for a review at the Berlin Bar Association.

Billing on an hourly basis may serve as an alternative especially for continuous mandates agreed upon with business clients, if the value of the matter presumably stands in no relation with the lawyer´s work on the matter or if the complexity of the case and the presumable work involved is far above average, e.g. if time consuming research work or deliberations with various parties are required.

Lump sum fees may be agreed upon if the mandate consists of many similar matters (e.g. debt collection).

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