Our fees

In accordance with the ethical rules of the Swedish Bar Association, an advocate's fees should be reasonable and take into account several factors. The crucial factors when determining a reasonable fee are, among other things, what has been agreed with the client, the scope, nature and level of difficulty of the assignment and the importance of the assignment for the client. The skill of the advocate, the result of the work and similar circumstances are also relevant when making this assessment.

At the beginning of every new assignment, we normally agree with the client on the basis for our fees and our invoicing routines. In our experience, it is often preferable to charge a fee based on how much time is spent on the case and we usually agree with the client on an hourly rate of SEK 2 000 to 2 500, including any VAT. However, we always assess the circumstances of each individual case.

Invoicing routines

When and how often it is appropriate to issue invoices in the course of an assignment depends on the nature and scope of the case.

For many cases that involve ongoing assistance, for example during an estate administration or a divorce where the scope of work to be carried out by the advocate is unclear, it is appropriate to have ongoing staged invoices during the course of the matter.

On the other hand, for other cases such as for example assistance in the event of a particular dispute or assistance when drawing up documents, it is often preferable to have a final invoice when the assignment has been concluded, sometimes combined with on-account invoices during the course of the matter. 'On-account invoices' means the invoicing of a cautiously estimated value of the work that has been performed up to the time of the invoice. Amounts that are invoiced on account are booked and deducted from the final invoice for the assignment.

Legal protection

In some cases the client may use private insurance to cover part of their costs for fees. Most home insurance policies actually contain a clause referred to as 'legal protection'. The scope of legal protection varies somewhat between the different insurance companies, but there is usually a general precondition that the matter involves a dispute that can be considered by a general court. In addition, there are always a number of exclusions and restrictions for different kinds of dispute specified in the different insurance conditions. The applicable insurance conditions must therefore be considered in each individual case, to ascertain whether such legal protection insurance applies for a particular assignment.

We are willing to assist our clients in investigating the possibilities of utilising any legal protection insurance and, if the client so wishes, we can also take care of all of the contacts with the insurance company.

However, even in cases where legal protection can be used for part of the client's fee costs, it must be noted that insurance companies normally only provide compensation of SEK 1 380 per hour, including VAT (2009). A indicated above we normally charge an hourly fee that is higher than this. Therefore, the client must personally bear all of the additional hourly cost and similarly the deductible that the insurance company applies, even in those cases where legal protection is available for the assignment. Insurance conditions also contain a maximum indemnity limit, which unfortunately does not cover the cost of fees in many disputes.