I have a client that is getting his ducks in a row to go to court. His attorney is asking me to bring him up to speed on a few things.
What is the general hourly rate you charge for court prep? I have never gone to court so I am not sure on what to charge. Thanks for your help!
Matt
Court prep or testimony is the same price which is typically double the average price of the crew. You mileage may vary.
as kris said. although I don't use twice the field crew rate, I use my rate 🙂 and I require a full day up front and bill out at half day increments.
Assisting with case preparation is viewed a lot like vacation lodging expense. If it's cheap, it's probably crappy.
Preparing for Court is a wide open statement. He could be a fact witness, expert witness or a party to the case. While I know in the business sense what my time is worth, these do bear on my fee structure.
Fact witnesses around here get about $25 a day. I won't beat a guy who is already getting hurt. Expert witnesses command some nice fees. They pay well when they want a second pair of eyes. Parties to a case shouldn't need a lot of help. Tell the truth, be polite and shut up once you answer a question.
Some provide the service of prescreening answers to avoid supporting certain fact patterns. Those guys can't afford me as my soul is not for sale...
Use your regular rates. What differense does it make if you are drawing a survey for a different client, or reviewing a file to prep for a case?
mattsib79, post: 322925, member: 1138 wrote: I have a client that is getting his ducks in a row to go to court. His attorney is asking me to bring him up to speed on a few things.
What is the general hourly rate you charge for court prep? I have never gone to court so I am not sure on what to charge. Thanks for your help!
Matt
I charge time and a half for court prep., double for court appearance to testify as expert. Testimony is minimum half day, paid in advance, and applies to on call as well as actually showing up. But I'm not sure "bring him up to speed" is really court prep.. I like to do that part with a short written report (if acceptable to the attorney). Sometimes they're nervous about anything in writing, even if you put a big red "preliminary" on it. Basically explaining the survey I charge regular rate. You should have in your contract a clause that court prep and testimony, if it becomes necessary, is not included in the initial contract. Actual dollar amount depends on the area and value of land. I would guess in your area 100-200 hr prep, 200-400 hr testimony is not out of line. I think federal cases have a cap of 800 an hour or something. State cases I've been told by attorneys some experts charge a couple thousand an hour.
The trial judge or jury in many instances are going to decide the case based on the credibility of the expert witness in a boundary dispute. If you are or become good at it, it's a valuable service. Some take to it, some don't.
Tommy Young, post: 322951, member: 703 wrote: Use your regular rates. What differense does it make if you are drawing a survey for a different client, or reviewing a file to prep for a case?
The potential liability and skill set required impact my fee structure. There is nothing wrong with adjusting rates to match the value of what you are doing...
I charge a slightly higher rate because when I get involved in a court case, and as I prepare for a trial I eat and breathe this stuff. It keeps me up at night and is pretty much an issue all my waking hours. The level of concentration is increased, the focus is total, but I can't bill it at 24 hours a day, so I adjust my rate accordingly.
It is not the same as drafting a plan, to me anyway. You get 100% attention and focus for an extended period.
As of two years ago, the maximum hourly rate for an Expert Witness to be paid by the U.S. Justice Department is $450/hour. I do not know if it has changed since then. I charge the same hourly rate for everything. (Less than the Fed's maximum.)
If you are going to do all your prep after business hours, charge them your overtime rate. If testifying will require that you shut down field operations for the day, charge them for the full crew that it shuts down. Give your staff a little work to do while you are in court such as equipment maintenance wash the truck and such then give them the rest of the day off with pay. Charge a daily rate to testify with hourly rates after your normal business hours. It is not unusual for a trial to run till 5:00 or 5:30 PM just to finish in a day. If your normal day is 7:00 AM till 3:00 PM, that is the day. If it runs till 5:00 PM the bill is for 1 day plus 2 hours of overtime. What ever your rates are they are probably less then the Lawyer is charging and you have a lot more equipment overhead.
Tommy Young, post: 322951, member: 703 wrote: Use your regular rates. What differense (sic) does it make if you are drawing a survey for a different client, or reviewing a file to prep for a case?
It makes a HUGE difference! Each professional service that the surveyor brings to the table requires differing levels of knowledge, skills and expertise. I charge in accordance with the varying level required for the situation. Surveyors need to realize that we're not paid for our time. We are paid for the product we deliver which is KNOWLEDGE.
mattsib79, post: 322925, member: 1138 wrote: I have a client that is getting his ducks in a row to go to court. His attorney is asking me to bring him up to speed on a few things. ... What is the general hourly rate you charge for court prep? I have never gone to court so I am not sure on what to charge. Thanks for your help!
Very valid question. However, [USER=8136]@thebionicman[/USER] raises a legitimate response: "Preparing for Court is a wide open statement. He could be a fact witness, expert witness or a party to the case."
If you're hired as a fact witness (something I would be vehemently discouraging the client and the attorney from doing), then you likely can only charge your normal hourly rate if you can charge them at all. You're not being requested to present any information other than facts which are disclosed on your survey. Lay witnesses are typically paid the going rate set by statute and are not paid for their time outside the courtroom.
If you're hired as an expert witness, then you are playing an entirely different game in a different ball park. It doesn't matter whether you're a licensed surveyor or not. You are being retained for your skills, knowledge and expertise. That's where the level of your expertise and prior experience will govern the value of your professional service. You need to study a variety of resources to learn the rules of the game. There are a number of good texts out there which you can use to begin your journey. I would recommend http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-047131840X.html&apos ;">"Surveying the Courtroom" by John Briscoe and https://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439887677&apos ;">"Effective Expert Witnessing" by Jack V. Matson. There are many others worth reading.
Your comment that "His attorney is asking me to bring him up to speed ..." suggests that you are being asked to provide consultation to the attorney as to the nature of the case, the arguments presented and the responses garnered by the claims being made. All of that requires not only your knowledge as a surveyor, but your expertise in the processes and procedures of the court. Knowing what stage the lawsuit is at is vital.
Has the lawsuit (the claim) been prepared and filed? You will need to have a copy of it for review. Make sure the claims are properly raised and that the correct claims are being argued. Are you still in the discovery stage? Then you can assist by providing interrogatory and production requests. The attorneys often don't know what evidence to request and what terms of art to use when formulating the requests. Are they past discovery and prepping for trial? The attorney may need your assistance to prepare questions for direct and cross examination of the witnesses. If the attorney fails to ask the right questions, then vital evidence may be omitted from the trial. Omitted evidence is evidence that is never heard by the court.
All of these roles that the expert witness plays during trial preparation will help the attorney properly prepare for his role and can streamline the attorney's time spent educating themselves on the matters of particular importance in the case -- matters that the surveyor is particularly suited for. The surveyor's unique set of skills, knowledge and expertise is a vital part of the case. That skill set has value. Charge accordingly.
JBS
We have a court rate which is 2.5 times my normal rate. Have never had to use it though....and hopefully that trend will continue.
The correct answer is: ALL YOU CAN GET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Holy Cow, post: 323040, member: 50 wrote: The correct answer is: ALL YOU CAN GET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Spot on.