Michalsons Attorneys

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Fee Arrangements

We aim to always provide cost effective legal services that are value for money. We are flexible on fee structures and billing methods and are happy to discuss and agree on something that suits you. Our fees are based on the value we provide. We are transparent on time billed and the progress of a matter. We are happy to agree a retainer or a subscription.

We are happy to provide estimates of our fees for our services prior to beginning our work.

Professional Fees

Our fees may comprise:

1. a fixed cost component for the various precedents that we may use when drafting the agreement, terms or conditions or policy (”document”) together with;
2. a time based component based on the amount of time it takes us to customise the document we might use; or
3. a pure time based fee based on the time that we spend on dealing with an instruction.

Fixed cost component:  When calculating the fixed cost component, we take into account a number of factors which include reading around the subject matter of the transaction to provide additional, necessary context, the complexity of the issues (both factually and legally) the relevance and importance of legislative compliance issues and the level of detail required in the document being prepared.

Time based fee:  Time spent on each instruction will include (as examples only):

1. meetings with you and perhaps others (either over the phone or face to face, including the time it takes to prepare a written record of the meeting), any time spent travelling, waiting, preparing and working on papers;
2. making note;
3. letters, e-mails, faxes in and out, making and receiving telephone calls;
4. research (including surfing any websites); and
5. time spent on customising precedents and the preparation of any detailed changes to any documents we prepare.

In addition to the time spent, we may take into account a number of other factors.  These include the complexity of the issues, the speed at which action must be taken or the expertise or specialist knowledge which the case requires.  These factors would normally be taken into account in any fee estimate.  We record time in “units” of six minutes each so that there are ten units in an hour.  We may “round-up” time of less than six minutes to treat it as one “unit”.  Please contact us for our current hourly rates.

Project Based Services or Fixed Fees

We are prepared to render services on a FIXED FEE basis provided the scope of work has been agreed to before hand.  Any fixed fee is based on the assumption that the information required for us to render the services is made available in accordance with agreed timetables and that key personnel are available during the course of our work.  If delays or other unanticipated problems occur, which are beyond our control, this may result in additional fees being charged.

Expenses or disbursements:  Our fees are exclusive of:

1. expenses (or disbursements); and
2. VAT that will be charged at 14%.

There are certain expenses we will consult you before incurring such expenses, and others we will not.

• Expenses we will consult you before incurring include Court fees, stamp duties and counsel’s fees and other experts and (patent and trademark) search fees, and the cost of travel by aeroplane, car hire and hotel accommodation.
• Expenses we will not consult you on before incurring include telephone, bandwidth, fax, copying, local travel, stationery and printing costs as well as the costs of the compulsory storage of your files.  We recover these expenses by means of a standard charge equal to 3% of our fees, with a minimum charge of R150.00 per invoice.

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