There can be real value in having someone who is not expecting to litigate your matter give you an overview of your case. Before speaking with any legal counsel, you may wish to have a written, pre-dispute analysis of your matter performed to answer some of these questions:

• What are the legal issues?
• What facts need to be developed?
• Where are the weaknesses?
• What claims might you bring?
• Will you likely be met with counterclaims?
• What kinds of damages might you get?
• Are your expectations consistent with reality?

If you wish, we can arrange to have the appropriate non-testifying, consulting expert review your facts and provide an analysis. Whether this analysis is done on a fixed fee or hourly basis, it will give you an independent point of reference, which you can use if you decide to go forward.

FOR INDIVIDUALS

There are times when you may require wisdom and skills from a lawyer instead of specific legal advice. Perhaps you need someone to help you craft a letter in response to a billing or contract issue. Maybe you need to talk through a work-related problem. You might want a second opinion on how to handle a career move. Or maybe you just need help in finding good advisors. Having someone who is impartial, non-judgmental, and who will treat your matter confidentially, can be an invaluable ally. For a reasonable fixed fee, you can have this service.

FOR BUSINESSES

A good General Counsel understands your business and the competitive environment in which you operate. An effective GC combines business and legal advice that can make the difference between financial success or ruin. If you don't have a General Counsel, Brown Counsel coordinates and provides consulting advice you need to be successful, all for one fixed monthly fee.

If you are a General Counsel, there may be times you need the down and dirty answer to a question that you will not be able to get from the larger law firm with layers of lawyers. By establishing an ongoing, personalized relationship with Brown Counsel, you can expect excellent, accessible service that you need. And a fixed monthly fee helps control costs.

FOR OTHER LAWYERS

Even lawyers need legal help. We have extensive experience working with out-of-state lawyers with cases in Massachusetts, providing both traditional local counsel and substantive advice and support. We also help draft briefs, ready witnesses, and moot argue an appeal. In fact, lawyers may find seeking assistance on a discrete task may be more cost efficient and profitable for you if you are assured of a fixed cost.

FOR EVERYONE

Brown Counsel often serves as settlement counsel. Too often the dynamics of litigation constrain settlement approaches. As settlement counsel, Brown Counsel attorneys make an approach and attempt to move a case into mediation or negotiation on a business-like basis, without the posturing that too often accompanies litigation. We also work internally with you and your litigation counsel to assess when a settlement approach makes sense, what a reasonable settlement might look like, and how to get there.

Paying legal fees can feel like throwing money into a pit. This is because you are buying intangibles - experience, judgment, knowledge, creativity - and not tangible property, like a car. Moreover, much of what lawyers do, like a director making a film, ends up on the cutting room floor. There are often multiple drafts of contracts, memos, briefs and emails. All of this provides you the best possible work product that maximizes your chance for success.

Brown Counsel keeps rates affordable purposefully. We work with clients to structure a written fee agreement that makes sense for both the client and the firm. This typically involves a structured retainer. Other types of fee agreements are:

HOURLY RATES

This is the standard way many attorneys bill. If you agree to an hourly rate, we keep track of hours, and you pay for the hours worked. A variation of the hourly rate is a task rate. In this scenario, we provide hourly rates for particular tasks. For example, courtroom work will have a higher hourly rate than document review work.

PHASE/PROJECT BILLING

We bill you a fixed amount for each phase of a case or for a particular project. For example, we bill you $X to provide an analysis of your case, $Y to prepare a demand letter, and $Z to prepare and file a complaint.

CONTINGENT FEE

In particular circumstances Brown Counsel attorneys will work on a full or partial contingency. A full contingency means that you don't pay any legal fees unless you recover money. If you do recover money, then you will pay the firm a percentage of the recovery. In a partial contingency, you pay the firm a reduced hourly rate and a percentage of the recovery (or savings in the case of a defendant) at the conclusion of the matter.

EXPENSES

Clients are typically responsible for out-of-pocket expenses such as deposition fees, filing costs, mass copying, and expert fees in any fee arrangement without markups.

PAYMENT

Getting paid for work performed is part of the bargain. Brown Counsel accepts credit cards through a secure portal, checks and wire transfers.