4) How can I know more about legal costs?

If you have been granted legal aid or other subsidised legal services, please go to another topic – Legal Aid for the details of costs calculation.

If you are engaged in court proceedings, you may be ordered by the court to pay the legal costs of the opposite party if you lose your case. Even if you win your case and the court orders the opposite party to pay your legal costs, the court will not automatically take steps to make sure that the money is paid. If the opposite party does not pay, you will need to ask the court to take action for which you may have to pay extra fee.

Lawyer's professional fees

The lawyer's bill is for services rendered and must contain enough information to identify the matter to which it relates. The bill should also show the "disbursements" separately from your lawyer's own fees. You are entitled to ask your lawyer for regular updates on the approximate amount of the costs incurred to date.

Disbursements

Solicitors' fees do not include disbursements which are expenses your solicitor will pay to others on your behalf. The following are some of the typical disbursements:

• Counsel/Barrister's fees (note)
• Court fees
• Stamp Duty
• Enquiry Agents' fees
• Photocopying charges
• License fees

(Note: If you require a barrister to handle a court case, your solicitor would normally act as the middleman for appointing such barrister. The relevant barrister fee would be listed on your solicitor’s bill since this is an expense to be paid by your solicitor.)

If the disbursement to be paid is substantial, your solicitor should normally seek your prior written authorization before proceeding further.

Advertisement or special price package

Remember to check if the charge or the price quoted is "all inclusive", and whether your lawyer can add "disbursements" (see above) to the bill. When you see a law firm’s advertisement stating $3,000 for handling a specific kind of case, the relevant court fees or other disbursements may be more than $10,000. You should ask your lawyer to list all the expense items.

If there is an agreed fee (say $20,000 for completing the whole case), ask if your lawyer can charge the full agreed amount no matter how much time spent or the amount of work involved.