Reception on flat fees has been mixed in Puerto Rico, possibly because of the innovation of flat fees in family law cases, in comparison among other attorneys in my area. Criminal cases have been retained on a flat fees for a while now. On the other hand, some clients prefer the certainty of a flat fee, while others are wary of paying a higher fee even if it means knowing exactly how much their whole case will cost.

On Child Support review cases, I usually set each action on a preset fee, and ask for a retainer deposit, since determining a median fee is harder due to many factors. On Estate Liquidations, clients usually prefer a Contingency Fee, but on Estate Litigation clients prefer a flat fee because these cases tend to be drawn out for a very long time.

Every case offers an unique situation when it comes to setting fees, be it hourly or flat fee. I’d love to stop logging billable hours, since I think that they do more harm than good to a client’s case, but if a client prefers to pay by the hour, I tend to oblige.