Nellor Retsinas Crawford, PLLC

Nellor Retsinas Crawford, PLLC has the following general policies regarding billing for our services:

  • Our fees are based on the standards set forth in the Washington Rules of Professional Conduct.
  • During the course of a case, we bill interim fees at hourly rates charged in six–minute increments for the time incurred by the firm’s attorneys. Hourly rates are based on the experience and expertise of each attorney and the costs of doing business, and may be adjusted from time to time.
  • Should you decide to retain our firm, we may request a retainer, an advance deposit toward fees, or both. A retainer means we are committed to represent you or to reserve time for you or your case. An advance deposit is security for the payment of fees we expect will be earned, and is based on the complexity and anticipated requirements of your case. We may request additional advance deposits during the course of representation.
  • An advance deposit is held in trust by our office. We will draw from the deposit to pay for our interim fees or cost incurred. Fees include the work performed by the attorneys and staff in our office, based on the attorney time spent on your case. Costs include services, fees or products necessary to pursue your case. The most common costs incurred on a case are court filing fees, depositions, long distance telephone calls, computer assisted legal research, copying, messenger services, postage, publication fees, subpoena fees and process server fees.
  • Your case may require that we hire other professionals to assist in the evaluation or trial of your case. This may include the services of an appraiser, accountant, custody evaluator or other experts. We will require that you provide the funds necessary to pay for the services of these professionals before we incur them.
  • One way we keep you apprised of the work done on your case, and the costs of such service, is by providing you with comprehensive billing statements. Any billing questions or concerns should be directed to us immediately upon receipt of your statement.
  • If you have questions regarding a specific charge, we can best help you if you mark your statement and call and discuss the charge. We will not charge you to review a statement or answer questions you have about a bill. Please pay the uncontested portion of your statement to avoid interest charges. We need to hear from you about billing questions or disputed charges within thirty days after a statement, or the charges become final.
  • We will normally provide you an estimate of fees and costs at the beginning of your case, and from time to time as circumstances warrant. Although we try to be as accurate with estimates as we can be, they are estimates only and not a guarantee that your case will be completed for a fixed fee or price.
  • We will set a final fee at the completion of your case. Any unused portions of your advance deposits will be returned to you. Retainers are non–refundable because we have set aside time to represent you.
  • If the advance deposit has been depleted prior to completion of your case, we may request additional deposits for continuing work. If additional work is done without an advance deposit, payment is due upon receipt of your statement.
  • If a statement is not paid in its entirety, it collects interest at a rate of 18% per annum on all unpaid charges.
  • If you have difficulty paying a statement, it is important that you contact us immediately to discuss payment arrangements. We will normally discontinue work on a case, and withdraw from representation, if a statement is not paid on time and you do not communicate with us.
  • As part of our normal procedure, we will invoke our statutory right to place an attorney lien on any money judgment or personal property awarded to you for any balance due our firm.

“I, as a lawyer, believe that some significant part of my money, time, thought and energy belongs—I don’t just give it, it belongs—to others, not just to me.”

—Shriver