Messner Steele Law Office

Creating legacies for future generations

How We Work

We provide a full proposal to all clients before any work is performed for both flat fee and hourly work.

Price Quotes:

Estate Planning

Corporate

Real Estate

Hourly Rates

Principal - $240
Associate - $190
Law Clerk - $160
Paralegal - $130
Administration - $80

Billing Practices

We provide a complimentary 30 minutes initial consultation with no obligation. Thereafter work will be billed at our hourly rate.

Flat Fee
Flat fee services are offered at a 3% discount for payment in advance. Otherwise, a 50% deposit is required upon signing the retainer agreement and 50% is due upon completion of the project.

Hourly
A deposit of an estimate of one month's hourly fees is required in advance. Hourly fees are billed monthly and are due and payable upon receipt. Interest of 1% per month and a $15 late fee is charged if payment is not received within 10 days from the date of the invoice.

We bill our services in 6-minute increments for client meetings, telephone calls, e-mails, legal research and drafting, preparing and forwarding documents. We maintain client files in accordance with State Bar requirements. Hourly based services are established on good faith estimates. We will call and discuss with you any hourly services that exceed the original good faith estimates.

We do not bill for normal copies (unless substantial), faxes, or long distance phone charges. However, we do pass along out-of-pocket costs of overnight mail, courier services, recording fees, or other filing costs. We reserve the right to charge for voluminous copies or extraordinary fees, generally without mark-up. Depending on extent and nature of client services rendered (generally hourly based fee clients), conference room fees of $20-$70 may be passed through to client at discretion of Attorney.

We observe a 30-day billing cycle with invoices forwarded to clients between the 1st and 10th of the month for the prior month's services. Invoices are due and payable upon receipt. There is a $15 late fee and interest at 1% per month after 10 days from date of invoice.

We offer payment by credit card with the appropriate processing fees passed on to the client.

Return Phone Call Policy
All attorneys and staff attempt to return phone calls within 24 hours. Exceptions are made when we are out of the office for business trips or vacations. We will notify clients of any attorney absences via telephone or out-of-office e-mail reply. However, other staff members will be available to take client calls.

Meeting Cancellations
Our office has a forty-eight (48) hour meeting cancellation policy. Cancellations within forty-eight (48) hours of a scheduled meeting time will incur conference room cancellation fees (ranging from $20-$70 per hour depending on conference room booked).

Estimates of Time of Completion
Upon signing a retainer agreement, we provide the client with an estimate of the amount of time for the completion of the project. This estimated date of completion may change depending on the timeliness of the client providing information, or in the case of changes requested by the client, or other contingencies. We attempt to keep within the time frame estimated when we are in control of the project and not dependent on others for information.

Find out more About Us.

701 Palomar Airport Road, Suite 300, Carlsbad, California 92011-1028
760-931-5640 (ph) 760-804-3868 (fax)

Resources:

State Bar of California

California Board of Accountancy

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