Glossary
Flat fee
A single, fixed price for a defined legal service: like drafting a will, handling an uncontested divorce, or doing a real estate closing. The total cost is known upfront.
Flat fees are increasingly common for predictable, well-defined legal work. They give clients certainty and remove the incentive lawyers have under hourly billing to spend more time than necessary.
Flat fees don't work well for unpredictable matters like litigation, where the amount of work depends on what the other side does. But for routine drafting and standard transactions, they're a reasonable choice.
Make sure the fee agreement spells out exactly what's covered. "Drafting a will" might not include consultation about complex estate planning, for example.