Fees

Hourly rates: The rates charged for BLC attorneys range from $300 to $500/hour and $125 to $225/hour for paralegals. These rates apply to both legal services and dispute resolution services.  Each of our lawyers and paralegals has his/her own billing rate. Our current rates are as follows:

Attorneys:

David Hoffman - $500/hour for mediation and arbitration of non-family cases; $425/hour for client representation and family mediation and arbitration

Olive Larson - $375/hour

Vicki Shemin - $325/hour

Craig Silverman - $300/hour

Mary Jurgensen LaCivita - $300/hour

Israela Brill-Cass - $300/hour

Paralegals:

Lenore Pellani - $225/hour

Nicole DiPentima - $175/hour

Sarah Kenney - $150/hour

Christopher Horwood - $125/hour

Benjamin Kaberon - $125/hour

Interns - $125/hour

Affiliates:  Our affiliates set their own rates, and you can contact them directly to discuss the cost of their services.

Reasonable costs:  We are all committed to having satisfied clients who feel that the cost of our services is fair and reasonable. If you need a financial accommodation to obtain our services, we are willing to talk with you about it. BLC provides pro bono and reduced-fee services in appropriate cases.

Billing and retainers: When BLC attorneys are hired, we ordinarily ask for a retainer. This may range from $7,500 on a collaborative law case to $10,000-$15,000 (or in some cases more) if the case will be handled in court. If the case involves no court appearance and only a modest expenditure of time, we are willing to consider a smaller amount for a retainer or no retainer. We bill clients on a monthly basis for services performed, and deduct the amount billed from the retainer. Any unused portion of the retainer is returned to the client at the end of the case. Client retainers are kept, as required by court rule, in an IOLTA account. (IOLTA stands for "interest on lawyers' trust account.") Interest earned on these accounts is paid by the bank to the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, a non-profit agency that funds legal services for the poor.

Travel: Our office is located at 99 Summer Street in Boston, but we also meet with clients in Newton and Wellesley, where we have space-sharing arrangements with other firms (click here for Directions to those locations). We also are willing to meet with clients at their offices or other mutually agreeable locations. If such travel takes us outside our ordinary commuting path or occurs mid-day, we charge for travel time at 50% of our ordinary hourly rates. This also applies for travel time to and from court or other case-related travel. 

Arbitration and Mediation Costs:  There are two costs associated with all mediation and arbitration cases: 

1.   The neutral's fee, which ranges from $300 to $500 depending on the person that the parties select as their mediator or arbitrator; and 

2.   An administration fee, which is a flat fee of $200 per party for family cases and $250 per party for commercial cases.  For arbitrations that go beyond two calendar days of hearing, there is an additional administration fee of $50/day per party.