Different Kinds of Legal Costs

One may well ask, why all the dribble about lawyers and legal fees / costs? It is only to make a point and drive home the importance of tenant screening and background checks. Litigation can prove to be more expensive, than if one were to spend a little time and effort on vetting potential tenants. And, as landlords will find, apart from lawyer’s fees, there are other legal costs that add considerably to the expense of going to court.

The amount a lawyer charges for legal services may include his / her fees, plus additional expenses and costs. If, the lawyer represents you in a court proceeding, there are filing fees or other court costs to be paid, as well.

You will find a number of costs that appear on your lawyer’s bill, while some lawyers may charge separately for these costs; others may group these expenses together as separate items on your bill, while still others may include some of these costs in their fee. Before hiring a lawyer, find out if these types of costs are included, and whether they will be itemised on your bill. In addition, to paying for the lawyer’s time, you will also be required to pay for filing fees and court costs, photo-copying, telephone and postage charges, paralegal time, messengers, if used, computer or research related costs, secretarial and staff time, deposition and court reporter costs, facsimiles (faxes), experts, consultants, and witness fees, investigators, process servers (delivery of legal documents relating to case), travel expenses.

The costs of going to court are many and there may be other charges that have not been listed above. It is a good idea to get the lawyer to give you a written estimate of anticipated costs to ensure you understand all the different costs that you may be required to pay. One can get an estimate, as there is a set rate for certain costs, such as, the cost of photo-copying fixed at $0.15 per page.

However, if going to court cannot be avoided, one can limit costs from building up, by informing one’s lawyer, any costs over a certain amount have to be approved by you in advance. Quite possible, one may also be able to negotiate the amount charged for many of these costs, in advance.

However, at the cost of repeating oneself, landlords can and should avoid unnecessary litigation by screening prospective tenants and employees, as well as, conducting background checks, simply by visiting www.e-renter.com for tenant screening and background check services.