Fair and Honest Billing 
A retainer is an amount paid to secure representation of a law firm or attorney. Edwards & Associates requires that a retainer be paid prior to beginning representation. We will incorporate our trained legal staff to assist with the legal work at lower rates to help minimize your overall costs. The retainer works as a deposit against future legal services. Therefore, if there is a retainer balance at the conclusion of your case, you will receive a refund of the remaining balance. Also, we require that clients maintain all or most of the retainer balance at all times during representation. You will be told the amount of the retainer required during your initial consultation. It varies between $2500 and $10,0000 - depending on the complexity of your case. Many matters can be handled for the retainer or less. Other matters may take much more extensive work and time.
Award of Attorney's Fees
Depending on the circumstances of your individual case, we may ask the Court to order the other party to reimburse you for your attorney's fees and expenses. Please keep in mind that it is up to the judge’s discretion whether or not to grant such an award. Therefore, we will still need our Initial Retainer to begin a case and any reimbursement or award by the court will be applied to your bill as the fees are received. Any excess will be immediately refunded to you when the case is complete.
Attorney's Lien on Property
In limited divorce cases, if the parties agree that a house or other property will be sold as part of the divorce, we may choose to require the Initial Retainer to begin a case and then any outstanding remaining balance beyond the Initial Retainer can be settled through the proceeds on the sale of your property.
Flat fee Cases
In limited cases we may work on a flat fee basis. A flat fee basis can be effective for uncontested divorces, some contested divorces, modification cases involving child support, alimony or custody, contempt for nonpayment of support, TPO (temporary protective order) cases, and other matters. The flat fee option protects the client financially in the event the other party attempts to drag out or unnecessarily prolong the case.
404.841.0155
Call us today or send us an e-mail to set up your one-hour, private consultation or fill out a free case evaluation form.
For your convenience, we accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
We serve clients throughout the Greater Atlanta, Georgia, area through offices in Gwinnett, Cobb and Fulton County. We also practice in Forsyth, Clayton , Rockdale and Dekalb.
