Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
In my roles as a Michigan criminal, driver’s license restoration and DUI lawyer, I have always tried to keep my fees reasonable. That said, I have never sought to compete with the bargain lawyers, or any other lawyers, for that matter, as the level of service that I provide (and which should and does translate into tangible results) is much different from theirs. For example, I guarantee to win every driver’s license restoration case I take. Recently, however, health insurance costs have gone way up, essentially becoming the straw that broke the camel’s back in my office, because over the last few years, everything else has gone up, as well. I’ve held the line on costs until now, but since mine have gone up again, so too, will my fees. I’m out to cover my increased costs, not build a new vacation home.
While most lawyers don’t go anywhere near publishing their fees or writing anything about them, I do. That I list my fees in the first place makes me very different from every other lawyer I know; that I’d put up an article announcing and explaining a price increase is yet another way that I’m different, but I wouldn’t do things any other way. Personally, I won’t do business with any operation that hides its prices or is secretive about costs, and given that one of the current, in-vogue buzzwords right now is transparency, I think an article about prices is necessary and, well, transparent.
You know the old saying, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch?” Well, it’s not only true, it is an axiom of commerce. Nobody gives anything away for free. There is always a motive. Even if you stop into a furniture store to fill out a card to enter a raffle for a free couch with a “no purchase necessary” disclaimer, the store figures that the relatively small cost of one (and you can count on this – it’s not a top-of-the-line model) couch is more than worth bringing hundreds of people into the showroom and have them walk all the way to the back, past all the other furniture, to enter the contest. Over time, they will clean up on impulse buys that make the cost of the couch well worth it.
I’m no different. I’m a nice guy, as honest as can be, and have my own motivation for being transparent, but I’m also perfectly glad to share it. I figure that, by listing my prices, I can save my staff and I lots of time not having to deal with time-wasters and bargain hunters looking for a cheap lawyer. In fact, just about anyone who emails and inquires “How much do you charge,” beyond having missed the fees I list on both my blog and website, almost certainly can’t afford the services I provide, either.
Hiring a lawyer, at least for the kinds of work I do, is kind of like hiring a laser eye surgeon to fix your vision, or a plastic surgeon to do some cosmetic work you can find bargains, and you can find cheap, but you will NEVER find the best in class using those criteria. That goes for everything.
Of course, you can overpay for a lawyer, as well. Anything near a $10,000 DUI, for example (regardless of whether it’s a 1st, 2nd or 3rd offense) is, in my opinion, grossly excessive – unless it results in all charges being dropped. Given that only about .17 percent of all DUI and DUI-related arrests result in an acquittal after trial, good luck with that (this, in part, accounts for why I attract a disproportionately high number of 2nd offense DUI cases; those clients are experienced, educated consumers and they identify with my candid and direct approach).
Always remember that when you hire a lawyer, you are paying for someone to go make your situation better. Anybody can promise the world, make everything sound like it will all get dismissed, assure a great outcome, and then do all kinds of work to justify a high fee. The question becomes what work is actually helpful and/or necessary, and the answer involves making sure your lawyer charges enough to thoroughly examine the evidence first (that’s not going to happen with a cut-rate lawyer), and then challenges it when doing so is appropriate, and likely to improve your case, rather than just doing so in a shotgun approach that is really just “busy work” to justify the fee you’ve paid.
These tactics, while making a person feel like they’ve gotten a lot of work for their money, do tend to backfire with the court and cost a lot goodwill. Judges know who is out to take people for a ride. Yet for all of that, however, what am I doing with my prices?
[Updated for May 1, 2019], my fees in driver’s license restoration and clearance cases will be as follows (all the “exceptions” stuff, which I keep simple and to a minimum, is listed below):
Driver’s License Restoration – $4200 (paid in 3 equal installments of $1400)
Ignition Interlock Violations – $1300 for existing Client, $1400 for new Client
Drunk Driving Cases:
1st offense DUI – $3800 (paid in 2 equal installments of $1900)
High BAC DUI – $4000 (paid in 2 equal installments of $2000)
2nd offense DUI – $4200 (paid in 2 equal installments of $2100)
3rd offense DUI – From $7200
Misdemeanor Offenses:
Indecent Exposure: From $2800 (paid in 2 equal installments)
Driving While License Suspended/Revoked: From $1400
Misdemeanor Traffic Violations (excluding DUI): From $1400
Embezzlement: From $2800
Misdemeanor Probation Violations: From $1400
All Other Misdemeanor Cases: From $1400
Expungements: From $2000
Felony Cases:
Offenses punishable by 4 or more years – From $7200*
High Court Misdemeanors (2 year offenses) – From $5000*
Probation Violations – From $1400
Disclaimers and other stuff:
* There is always some flexibility regarding prices, and they can, is some circumstances, be adjusted downward, especially those marked with an asterisk (*).
The “From” language means that the fees may, in some cases be higher, depending on the charge(s), complexity of the case, or location and/or procedure of the specific court. A firm price is always provided right over the phone.
The fees above do not include going to trial (don’t worry – that very rarely happens, and only if the client and I both agree it’s the right thing to do and clearly see that it is likely we will win), nor does it include the cost of additional court appearances caused by things like bond violations (this typically happens when you test positive for alcohol or drugs despite being ordered remain abstinent and test, periodically, to prove that you are), the drafting and/or filing of motions (for things that arise outside the scope of the case itself).
These things come up infrequently; I don’t go through all this work to set and list prices so that I can start changing things around. Almost without exception, the price you see here is the price pay, and we’ll quote you an exact amount when you call. I don’t have any kind of hidden fees or costs anywhere. I hate surprises, especially when they cost me money, so I won’t foist them on anyone else.
The fees set forth here may contradict something I set forth in an earlier article; what’s listed here supersedes any such listing. No lawyer anywhere publishes the amount of material I do, so it is impossible for me to go back through nearly a thousand articles and make sure any reference to price is accurate today, rather than at the time the article was written. This fee structure overrides anything published before.
I’m sure plenty of my colleagues would disagree with me listing fees because it has always been something reserved for a more private, in-office discussion. That, to me, is a very classy way of saying they wait to get you in the client chair and all buttered-up before they spring the prices on you. Again, I do not and would not do business with anyone who would try that on me, and I cannot imagine doing it to someone on the other side of the transaction. I want to know all about cost before I even begin talking about something, and I provide the same information to any potential client of mine.
If you need a lawyer for a criminal, DUI or driver’s license restoration case in Michigan, call me. I’ll tell you exactly what it will cost right when we answer the phone. My office is open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., and can be reached at 586-465-1980. We’re here to help, not screw around with or be secretive about prices. After all, that’s not very…transparent.