Lawyers in Spain have full freedom to set their professional fees

The fees of lawyers in Spain are as diverse as the different cases that the lawyers must face. Lawyers in Spain have full freedom to set their professional fees.

A lawyer can decide to establish her/his fees for an hourly rate, fixed fees, variable fees depending on the result or work done, percentage fees or mixed fees. Other lawyers or firms charge their clients a fixed monthly fee excluding certain jobs.

On the other hand, the amount or percentage of these fees will be established by the lawyer based on her/his experience, specialty, the complexity of the case, the time she/he estimates to invest in the legal actions, the interests at stake, the economic amount, etc.

The lawyer must specify the fees in a budget and/or on the professional order sheet so that the client is very clear about the price of the service she/he contracts as well as the method of payment, possible variations, possible expenses not included, etc.

The client will make his decision on whether or not to hire a lawyer once she/he knows the budget of the professional she/he has consulted.

There are clients who want to hire a specific lawyer and give more importance to the lawyer's fame, the recommendations they have received about her/him, her/his specialty, etc., than to the amount of her/his fees, provided that they can afford it, of course.

Other clients decide more on the price of the lawyer and are looking for a lawyer who does not charge them very expensive.

In addition, according to the Law of Professional Associations, the exercise of collegiate professions (as Lawyering is) must be carried out in a regime of free competition and is subject, in terms of the offer of services and price formation, to the Law for the Defense of Competition. This rule prohibits the existence of collective price recommendations, even if it is through merely indicative scales.