Fee for legal services – VESELÝ & PARTNER – law office – Mariánské Lázně
establishing and management of companies, legal aid, tax consultations, business contacts, real estate
FEE FOR LEGAL SERVICES
In compliance with Act No 85/1996 on advocacy, the solicitor carries out activities for a fee and may require the appropriate advance payment from the client. The method of determining the fee and compensation is determined by Decree by the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic Decree No 177/1996 Coll., on remuneration of solicitors and compensation of solicitors for provision of legal services (solicitor’s tariff).
The solicitor’s fee for provision of legal services may be arranged contractually between the solicitor and his client as:
- an hourly rate
- a fixed monthly rate
- a fixed rate for a legal service
- a share in the value of an item
and if the reward is not determined in this manner, it is governed by the provisions of the decree (solicitor’s tariff) on extra-contractual remuneration. Cash expenses and VAT in the statutory amount are added to all types of fee.
Specification of the specific type and value of the reward always depends on individual agreement between the law office and the client, taking into consideration many criteria, with regard to the factual and legal demands placed on provision of legal services in the specific case, the requirement of using a foreign language or applying a foreign law, and also with regard to whether the client requires permanent representation in all cases or representation in individual cases, or whether the legal service will be provided at the solicitor’s business premises or labour intensive activities externally are assumed, the client’s required the time limit for settling the case, the probability that the solicitor will have to refuse to take on other cases as a result of taking on the client’s case, and with regard to the solicitor’s specific knowledge, experience, reputation and abilities, etc.
The value of the fees for legal services is undoubtedly one of the criteria the client considers when deciding whether engage a law office, and which one, in the specific case. However, this should not be the only criterion or a criterion without further decisions being made.
There are certainly exceptions, but it applies in the field of legal services, more than elsewhere that, “Savings” achieved by not seeking out professional legal aid, relying on general legal samples available on the internet or engaging a so-called “cheap” solicitor may result in difficult to compensate losses in the near or distant future.
Solicitors frequently encounter these cases when it is often too late to provide effective legal aid. The situation is highly comparable to insurance – if an insured event occurs, it is too late to conclude an insurance contract on the basis of which the incurred damages would be compensated. It is also too late to replace “cheap and advantageous” insurance contracts, which do not cover the occurring insured event. The well-known principle “vigilantus iura” or “the law belong to the vigilant” applied in Roman law. As it is appropriate to entrust a surgical procedure to the hands of a skilful physician-surgeon, so it is appropriate to seek out professional aid from a first-rate solicitor in legal issues.
