Since a lawyer offers advice and expertise, attorneys bill their clients for time expended on an hourly basis. The time an attorney spends representing the client is simultaneously recorded and billed to the client monthly. Those fees plus out of pocket costs such as sheriff fees and filing fees are deducted from the retainer, which is a sum of money given to the attorney at the time the attorney is retained. The retainer is deposited into an escrow account called an IOLTA account, which contains the client funds which are kept separate from the attorney’s personal or office funds. All of the time spent with regards to a case is included in that bill, including telephone conferences, travel to and from court, office consultations, research, file review and courtroom appearances.
Mediation sessions are billed on an hourly basis. The initial consultation is including in the billing if Attorney LoDolce accepts the case and the parties decide to start their mediation, otherwise, the first half hour is a courtesy of the office.
Time expended on a matter is recorded in one tenth of an hour, or six minute increments and the bills are sent to the client monthly. In addition to ordinary forms of payment, this office accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover for the convenience of the parties.