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The fee for legal services is usually set by agreement between the attorney and the client (contractual fee), depending on how legally complex and time-consuming the service is. If no specific amount has been agreed between the client and the attorney, the non-contractual fee is governed by Decree of the Ministry of Justice No. 177/1996 Coll., on attorneys’ fees and compensation for the provision of legal services (the “attorneys’ tariff”), as amended. Its full text (in Czech) is available here.
By agreement, the fee may be set as a time-based fee, a fee per legal act, a flat fee or a contingency fee. A time-based contractual fee means that the client pays the attorney an agreed fee according to the number of hours of legal service. For short consultations, the hourly rate can be reduced proportionately. A contractual fee per legal act is set according to the number of acts of legal service that will be performed in the matter. What counts as an act of legal service is defined in Section 11 of the attorneys’ tariff; examples include taking over and preparing legal representation or defence, drafting a contract, drafting a lawsuit, drafting an appeal or attending a court hearing. A flat contractual fee suits clients who regularly need legal services in a fairly stable scope; they can pay for legal services with a flat fee, i.e. an agreed fixed amount paid regularly (e.g. monthly). For the flat fee, the client receives legal services regardless of their scope in the given period. A flat fee gives the client the advantage of predictable and stable legal costs, even in situations in which the client would otherwise face substantially higher one-off costs because of a greater need for legal services in that period. A contingency contractual fee is set by agreement of the parties as a share of the result of the matter (i.e. a percentage of the claim awarded).
Under Section 13 of the attorneys’ tariff, in addition to the fee, the client is also charged the cash expenses connected with the legal service (e.g. travel expenses, court and administrative fees, compensation for lost time, the costs of translations and expert opinions).
When setting the fee, the attorney makes sure that, in addition to the time and substantive demands of the matter, it also reflects the client’s financial means. Before taking on a matter, the client is always informed of the expected scope of work and of the total costs the client will need to bear to resolve the matter. The client can always choose the rate that is more advantageous for them or, by agreement, change the method of billing already chosen.
Examples of prices for specific legal services:
- Drafting a gift agreement + drafting the application for registration of ownership in the Land Register – CZK 6,000
- Drafting a gift agreement including an easement of lifelong residence + drafting the application for registration of the rights under the agreement in the Land Register – CZK 7,000
- Drafting a gift agreement including an easement of lifelong residence and a ban on alienation of the donated real estate for 10 years + drafting the application for registration of the rights under the agreement in the Land Register – CZK 8,000
- Drafting a gift agreement + drafting the application for registration of ownership in the Land Register + representation before the Land Registry in the registration proceedings + payment of the administrative fee on the client’s behalf – CZK 11,000
- Drafting a purchase agreement + drafting the application for registration of ownership in the Land Register (without escrow of the purchase price and documents) – CZK 8,000
- Drafting a purchase agreement + drafting the application for registration of ownership in the Land Register + escrow of the purchase price + escrow of documents – CZK 15,000
- Drafting a purchase agreement + drafting the application for registration of ownership in the Land Register + escrow of the purchase price + escrow of documents + representation before the Land Registry in the registration proceedings + payment of the administrative fee on the client’s behalf – CZK 20,000
- Escrow of the purchase price (without drafting the purchase agreement itself) – 0.2 % of the amount held in escrow, at least CZK 6,000
- Hourly rate for representation and/or consultations – CZK 3,000 to 4,000
Mgr. Andrej Najman, advokátní kancelář is not a VAT payer; no VAT is added to the prices stated.
Under Section 20n of Act No. 634/1992 Coll., on Consumer Protection, a dispute between an attorney and a client who is a consumer may be resolved out of court if they cannot reach a mutually acceptable compromise themselves. Out-of-court resolution is initiated on the basis of a proposal. The Czech Bar Association has been entrusted with the role of mediator in such cases. More information is available on the Czech Bar Association’s website here.
This is an English translation. In case of doubt, the Czech version prevails.