How much does it cost to hire an attorney to represent me before the MSPB?
Usually, this is one of the first questions our Firm is asked when contacted by a potential new client. Here are some different examples of the attorney fees and costs an appellant might incur litigating their case before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB):
- Hourly-Retainer: This is probably the most common type of fee arrangement between attorneys and federal employees. The appellant deposits an agreed upon sum of money, and the attorney places that sum in a client trust account. As the attorney works the case, the attorney bills her hourly rate against the Client’s trust account. My Firm has found that the average case can take around 125-150 hours to get to trial. This can cost the appellant anywhere between $25,000 - $40,000 in attorneys fees just to get to hearing. And attorney fees are not always recoverable (click here to read more).
- Contingency Fee: In this fee structure, the attorney is awarded a percentage (typically 30-40%) of the monetary award an appellant recovers. Almost no practitioners before the MSPB accept cases on contingency. Why? As discussed above, an attorney can lay out between $25,000 and $40,000 to get a case to hearing. Very few MSPB cases are worth $75,000 - $120,000 - the amount an appellant would need to win at hearing so that the attorney breaks even.
The Attig Law Firm uses a method called a “true-retainer” in pricing its services. The Appellant pays the Firm a fixed amount to cover the portion of the Firm’s overhead for the time that it will take to litigate the case. This method can result in substantial out-of-pocket savings to most appellants before the MSPB. Read more about our fees here. To discuss this type of fee structure, or to discuss your MSPB appeal, contact us for a consultation today.
