Fundamental to a sound and mutually satisfying relationship between lawyer and client is a clear understanding of the lawyer’s compensation arrangements and billing practices. Tuttle Law welcomes questions at the start of each new client relationship concerning its fee arrangement. The goal is a reasonable fee that is fair to both client and lawyer.
Melanie Tuttle founded Tuttle Law with an aim of providing her services at a portion of the cost charged when she was at other firms. As a sole practitioner, her overhead expenses do not reach the level of those experienced by firms practicing in the same areas of the law.
The firm’s fees are based primarily on the amount of time devoted to a matter. For that reason, Tuttle Law maintains hourly rates as guidelines used to establish its fees in each particular matter.
While the amount of time expended is the most important element of its fees, Tuttle Law does not charge clients strictly on an hourly basis. Melanie Tuttle believes that it is appropriate that each bill be individually considered and that the ultimate charge—to be fair to both client and lawyer—be established after taking into account other factors along with the amount of time expended on the matter. These factors may include the magnitude of the matter and the results obtained, the time limitations imposed by the client and by the circumstances, the novelty and difficulty of the issues involved, the extent of preclusion of other employment during the course of the engagement, the firm’s overall efficiency in delivering the services, and any other factors that are recognized by applicable rules of professional conduct as appropriate to consider in determining charges for legal services.