Cipparone & Zaccaro, PC discusses fees with our clients at the start of every engagement. We encourage you to ask about our fees at any point during our representation of you.
Initial Consultation: At our first meeting, we will extensively review your matter. This meeting is usually one hour long. You will walk away with an understanding of your particular legal issues. It costs $500 for an initial consultation. At the end of the initial meeting, we will recommend an action plan and give you an estimate of our fees to do your legal work. If you decide to retain us, we will request one-half of the estimated fee within one week of our meeting. For all legal matters, we bill our fees monthly so you stay regularly informed of our charges.
It is important that you not be surprised by the fees we charge! If you need clarification of our fees, please say so. It is very important that you feel the work we provide is worth the fees you pay. Remember, we are working for you, and you have every right to fully understand your investment.
Other Fee Arrangements: Most of the work we perform is done on an hourly basis. For certain matters like Medicaid applications and residential real estate closings, however, we charge a fixed fee. In some instances like probate disputes, litigation and commercial matters, we bill by retainer. We ask for a certain amount as an initial retainer and when that retainer is used up through our hourly billing we request another retainer. We will discuss your fee arrangement at the initial consultation and send you a retainer letter to confirm the fee arrangement.
Certain out-of-pocket expenses will be charged to you. Such expenses include town clerk recording fees, title search fees, Connecticut Secretary of State’s fees, title insurance, court filing and hearing fees, sheriff costs, deposition transcripts, appraisal fees, overnight mail charges and the like. We won't "nickel-and-dime" you and we won't charge for routine copying or postage or for long distance phone calls.
