Fees (Family Law)
If you call me to tell me about your concerns and make an appointment, this telephone call is free of charge (maximum of 30 minutes).
One-time legal consultations lasting up to 1.5 hours (including the study of files) are charged at a flat fee of CHF 350.00, including VAT.
We agree on the hourly rate for regular mandates at the first personal meeting at the beginning of the mandate. The hourly rate for out-of-court mandates (counselling, mediation, CLP) ranges between CHF 250.00 and CHF 350.00 per hour, depending on the matter’s difficulty and income situation. The hourly rate for court mandates is CHF 350.00 per hour. Expenses and VAT are added to the hourly fee.
As we are required to do so, I work with retainers. This means that you transfer to me an amount to be determined at the beginning of the mandate, which is then billed on an ongoing basis (usually monthly). Once the advance has been used up, I will ask you for another retainer. This will then be handled as described. The retainer amount is calculated according to the approximate workload that I can foresee at that time.
As a rule, I invoice you monthly and send you a detailed activity report. In this way, any ambiguities can be promptly checked and resolved.
If you are unable to pay an invoice immediately, please call me. We will find a solution.
If you qualify for free legal aid, I will make the appropriate application on your behalf. The prerequisite for this is that you provide me with the necessary documents and that court proceedings are already underway or are pending through you.
In my experience, every client would prefer to know beforehand what “the whole thing will cost”. Depending on the case, I can also tell you this relatively precisely in advance. If you are drafting a separation or divorce agreement in which you and your partner already agree on the points to be settled, or if you are drafting a cohabitation or marriage contract, you are welcome to talk to me about a cost ceiling.
However, as soon as a counterparty is involved or no agreement has been reached on essential points, i.e. as soon as the effort is no longer in my hands alone, I can only predict the costs to be expected very roughly or not at all. However, you can receive my assessment of the cost-benefit ratio of each step I take in your case after consultation with you.
In structured models, such as mediation and CLP, with my assistance, you set a timeframe in terms of duration and hours of meetings required at the beginning of the mandate, right after determining which issues are open and therefore need to be negotiated. This time frame provides a fairly good guideline to orientate yourself in terms of time and finances.
