Our Flexible Fee Arrangements

In today’s legal market, we understand that the pursuit of legal rights in a complex commercial case can cost millions of dollars in legal fees that must be funded on a current basis.  For many businesses and individuals, those costs can be prohibitive and otherwise good claims can go unprosecuted.  We also understand that there are circumstances where a client owns a valuable asset in the form of a claim or claims but lacks the financial wherewithal or liquidity to monetize that claim.

In appropriate cases, Freeborn is willing to share in the risks and costs of pursuing such claims, affording clients the ability to cost-effectively pursue their rights in circumstances where they might otherwise be forced to forego those rights.  In those circumstances, we offer a variety of alternatives to straight fee-for-service billing to accommodate our clients.  Those alternative fee arrangements (AFAs) can take several forms:

  1. Contingency Fees: Contingency fees typically involve the firm providing legal services for an agreed percentage of any recovery, whether by settlement or judgment.  We have handled a wide variety of business disputes through such arrangements including disputes involving breach of contract, intellectual property, antitrust claims, shareholder claims, securities fraud, “whistleblower” cases and judgment enforcement, among numerous others.
     
  2. Hybrid or Blended Contingency Fees: Hybrid or blended arrangements typically involve payment of a reduced hourly fee together with a smaller percentage of any recovery than under a straight contingency AFA.  We have handled breach of contract, intellectual property, reinsurance, antitrust and numerous other disputes using blended or hybrid arrangements.
     
  3. Fixed Fees: Fixed fees are where the client agrees to pay an agreed amount for specified legal services.  Fixed fees can be attractive for certain types of legal work because they provide clients with predictable costs.  We have handled employment disputes, handbook/policy and contract review, and training on a fixed basis. 
     
  4. Fee Caps: Fee caps are where the client agrees to pay legal fees on an hourly basis but the Firm agrees to cap the fees at a certain amount for specified services.  The cap can be for an entire case or phases of a case.  Like fixed fees, fee caps provide clients with predictable legal cost for specific matters or groups of matters, which assists them in budgeting.  Fee caps are often used for certain stages or phases of litigation, providing clients with the assurance that specified work will not cost more than an agreed amount.
     
  5. Other options: We are open to considering other AFA options, as well.

Freeborn has successfully prosecuted many complex commercial cases under an AFA.  Unlike many firms that only utilize AFAs for personal injury, medical malpractice or consumer cases, Freeborn handles some of the most sophisticated commercial cases on an AFA basis.  

Those cases have included antitrust, reinsurance, professional malpractice, insurance coverage, patent enforcement, breach of contract, securities fraud, and numerous other types of cases.  

For clients wishing to explore AFAs, our AFA Committee, which consists of senior trial attorneys, will quickly evaluate your claim and advise whether we can handle it on an AFA basis. We then will work with you to arrive at fair and reasonable terms that share the risks in a way that aligns the interests of the firm and you for a successful outcome. This arrangement allows you to receive the highest quality legal services, without having to incur the cash-flow drain from paying substantial legal fees on an hourly basis.

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