Standardized financial procedures ensure transparency and professional handling of client funds. Any online payment made for a consultation is refundable if you wish to cancel, just send an email to laura@jbclawoffice.com or call (631) 206-6098. Please allow five to seven days for the money to be credited to your account depending on your bank.
1. Fee Arrangements
We offer hourly, flat-fee, and on rare occasions contingency arrangements depending on the nature of the case. All fees are detailed in your specific Letter of Engagement. In the vast majority of cases we are charging the client a flat-fee. With a flat-fee the client is paying a set amount for a specific service regardless of the amount of time spent on that case or other variables. This is the arrangement that almost all clients prefer since it eliminates the possibility of incurring any unanticipated costs and allows for the client to budget and plan accordingly.
Any filing fees, visa fees, immigration fees, or other government fees are to be paid directly to the United States Government and are not included in our legal fee.
2. Retainers
The initial payment made at the time of signing your retainer agreement and beginning your case with our office is often referred to by our clients as a "retainer." This payment is not a retainer as that term is more popularly used to mean funds that remain yours until earned by the firm, which are held in an IOLA account. The initial payment you make when retaining our office is a payment for the services that are being immediately rendered including initial client intake, opening of your file, fact gathering, document review, preparation and submission of initial documents, and full case evaluation.
The initial payment you make when opening your case and signing the retainer agreement is a payment towards services that are being immediately rendered and that money is not being held in an IOLA account.
3. Invoicing & Late Payments
Invoices are sent monthly upon request. Payments are due on the date specified in your Letter of Engagement or within 7 days of the first day of the month. Late payments (payments received more than seven days after the due date without contacting our office) may result in a late fee of $25.00 being added to your balance due. Two or more consecutive late or missed payments may result in the suspension of services as permitted by law and the termination of our representation.
If you anticipate missing or being late to remit a payment, please contact our office to avoid being charged a late fee. If you are unable to make monthly payments as agreed to due to changes in your circumstances we can adjust the agreement accordingly.
If there is ever a problem with your bill, if you have a question or would like clarification regarding your bill, or if you cannot pay your bill, you should call or email us and we can resolve the situation.
4. Accepted Methods
We accept payment via bank transfer, check, debit card, and all major credit cards. Electronic Bank Payments (AHC) are the preferred method of payment and there are no bank processing fees for electronic bank payments.
Payment by credit card (or by debit card processed as a credit card) will incur a processing fee of 3.5%. That processing fee will either be added at the time of payment (if you are in our office to approve) or it will be added to your next invoice. If you wish to avoid the payment of any additional processing fees you can remit payment by cash, money order, bank check, or even by Monero.