In Queensland a lawyer is required to give to a prospective client a Client Costs Agreement. A Client Costs Agreement determines the means by which a lawyer’s fees are calculated.
We will provide you with a copy of our Client Costs Agreement and allow you time to review it. We will also provide you with a copy of the Queensland Law Society and Legal Services Commission document entitled “Legal Costs – your right to Know.”
We wont do anything until you have read and understood our Client Costs Agreement. If your happy with what is proposed in the Client Costs Agreement we will ask that you sign it.
Then what?
We will provide you with our advice about your matter, including:
- What laws are relevant to your matter;
- How those laws might effect your matter:
- If you end up infront of a Judge what their decision is likely to be.
Once we’ve given you this advice its then up to you to tell us what you want to do. We call this “instructions.”
Getting started
Once you’ve agreed to our Clients Costs Agreement, signed and returned it to us and given us instructions we can get things underway.
What’s the first thing we do?
The first thing we do is send a letter to let those involved in your dispute know that we are acting for you. The letter also includes a brief explanation of your concerns and how it is you would like those concerns resolved.
What happens when we get a reply?
The other sides reply will tell us how likely we are to resolve your dispute without the need of going to Court. We will always recommend that the most costs effective way to resolve a dispute. Mediation, that is a negotiated outcome and is always a less expensive alternative than going to Court. If there’s any we of resolving your dispute by avoiding the costs of going to Court we will explore this for you.
What happens if the other side disagrees with my claims?
Just because the other side may initially be unwilling to mediate doesn’t mean that all is lost. Most Courts, and the rules that govern how things work in Courts require that before a trial the parties attend mediation.
About Hunter Trotman:
Hunter started his time in the legal profession as a Barrister and is now the principal solicitor of HRT Lawyers. Hunter started out doing mostly Legal aid family and criminal law and then moved into a civil litigation, employment and industrial.
