Key Takeaways
The cost of a lawyer depends on the extent of expertise, experience, and reputation of the lawyer, as well as the simplicity or complexity and stage of the case, which can cause legal fees to range between $220 to $880 per hour, or a daily fixed fee of $2,200 to $6,600 per day in court for high quality representation.
Lawyer fees per hour in Australia range from $220 to $880 hourly rate inclusive of GST. Lawyers may charge a fixed fee daily rate of $2,200 to $6,600 inclusive of GST. The cost of a lawyer is directly affected by the lawyer's experience, reputation, area of legal expertise, complexity or simplicity of the case, type of case, and stage of the court proceedings. The lawyer cost per hour or daily fee should be transparent and disclosed before any work is done by your lawyer.
A criminal lawyer cost is between $2,200 to $3,300 per day for a simple non-complex hearing or sentence in the local court. A simple non-complex trial in the District or Supreme Court will cost between $4,400 to $6,600 per day.
A lawyer with 15 years of exclusive criminal law experience will be classed a senior criminal lawyer with an hourly rate of $550 to $880 per hour, or daily rate of $4,400 to $6,600 per day. A lawyer's hourly or daily rate will reflect the quality of legal representation. A junior criminal lawyer with less than 5 years' experience will have a $220 to $440 hourly rate, or daily rate of $2,200.
The number of preparation days and the number of court attendances required for a case will vary from case to case. An experienced lawyer will be able to estimate the number of days required for your case after having sufficient knowledge about your case.
Factors That Affect the Cost of a Lawyer
Law firms in Australia usually bill cases using a lawyer cost per hour billing system, or daily fee, or fixed fee cost system. Your lawyer cost will be affected by:
- The type of case,
- Complexity or simplicity of the case,
- Stage of the case in the court proceedings,
- Experience and reputation of the law firm and lawyer, and
- Extent of the law firm and lawyer's expertise in the area of law your case concerns.
Many lawyers conduct a general practice by accepting most or any type of legal matter from criminal law, family law to commercial law. These lawyers often do not possess as much insight, experience and knowledge as a lawyer who exclusively practices in only one area of law. Knowing whether a law firm focuses and practices exclusively in only one area of law or many is an important factor affecting both the legal cost and case result. By way of an analogy, you would not want a foot doctor to conduct brain surgery on you and vice versa.
Your lawyer should be completely transparent with legal costing in the first consultation. If you are not sure, then it is important to ask and clarify how much your lawyer will cost you. equally important when booking a lawyer in, you should ask what if any the lawyer consultation fee will be.
Lawyer Hourly Rates in Australia
An experienced senior lawyer hourly rate in Australia generally ranges from $550 to $880 inclusive of GST. In contrast, a junior lawyer hourly rate ranges from $220 to $440 inclusive of GST. An intermediate lawyer's hourly rate will sit somewhere in between those two ranges.
An hourly rate of a lawyer is based on the extent of the years of experience the lawyer has, reputation and the extent of experience in the field of law that the lawyer has. A lawyer with 10 years of experience in commercial law who has 1 year experience in criminal law will be classed as a junior criminal lawyer because due to the limited criminal law experience.
Fixed Fees Lawyers
Fixed fees are a popular legal costing system commonly used across law firms in Australia for non-complex cases. Some of the fixed fee benefits include:
- More affordable than per hour billing,
- Efficiency in planning and budgeting,
- Certainty in legal costing,
- Reduced stress and anxiety,
- More accessible to the community without compromising quality of legal representation.
Criminal Defence Lawyers Australia provide fixed fees for almost all types of non-complex criminal cases, which is publicly accessible on the law firm's website under "Fixed Fees". These fixed fees apply across all of the firm's lawyers and instructed barristers.
For more serious or complex criminal cases, Criminal Defence Lawyers Australia provide competitive legal fees without compromising on the quality of the work required on the case.
How to Manage Lawyer Costs | Picking the Right Type of Lawyer
A lawyer who has limited experience and insight about the law relating to your case may cause your lawyer fees to increase by engaging a lawyer who wears a wig and gown in court (barrister) who possess the requisite expertise in that area of law. However, a lawyer who does not wear a wig and gown yet specialises in the area of law relating to your case will not require a barrister, thereby keeping your lawyer fees low. To keep legal costs low, it is much more economical and efficient to engage a law firm that specialises only in one area of law relevant to your case.
A law firm that only works in criminal law cases is much better off engaging for a criminal law case. Further, a family law legal issue will be much better handled by a law firm specialising only in family law. This can save significant legal costs down the track and increases the chances of getting a successful outcome in your case.
While your lawyer should be transparent and fair with their legal fees at the beginning, you should equally be open with your lawyer. Question your lawyer on any legal fees that you are unsure of. A good lawyer should take the time out during the first consultation to clearly disclose any legal fees concerning your case. This explanation should then follow through in the form of a formal cost disclosure document clearly outlining the same so that it is also in writing for transparency purposes.
Carefully read the cost disclosure document and ask questions before getting the law firm to commence any work. You may be able to reduce legal fees by realising that not all of the work quoted for will necessarily be required for your case.
The law firm you engage can provide you with an itemised bill showing all work and time spent for each work during the case. You may ask for this at the end of each invoice or at the conclusion of your case.
Some cases may require additional disbursement expenses such as expert reports, court costs and travel expenses. While the lawyer should disclose this to you as early as possible, it is wise to ask the lawyer if your case will incur these types of expenses to help you budget better.
How Many Years' Experience Does My Lawyer Have?
A simple way to check how many years of experience a lawyer has is by checking the Register of Solicitors on the Law Society of NSW website. Lawyers are not allowed to lie about the years of experience they have, as it is a breach of the solicitor conduct rules which they are expected to be familiar with and are required to comply with. Breach of these rules can amount to disciplinary action, including being struck off the role. If you think your solicitor has lied, you can complain directly to the legal services commission.
If you are looking for a lawyer, it's important to get one who has relevant experience in the type of legal case you have. If your case involves a criminal charge or an AVO, you should be looking for a criminal defence lawyer. If your case involves child custody or divorce, you should be looking for a family or divorce lawyer. This part of your journey is searching for the best lawyer for your case is critical and will have a big impact on the outcome of your case.
Disputing Legal Cost
You have the right to dispute your lawyers legal fees if you feel it is unfair. The initial avenue to do this should be to approach the law firm directly and request a review of the invoice with your reasons for it. This will commence the mediation process with an attempt to try to negotiate and settle the dispute. An independent arbitrator can be engaged by you to do this. If negotiation fails, you may lodge a formal complaint to the Legal Services Commissioner or arrange for an independent assessment of costs conducted. If attempting to arrange an independent assessment, there is a 1 year time limit from the date of the invoice.
Failing to pay your legal fees can otherwise result in legal action against you which may result in further costs.
How Much Does a Lawyer Cost By City Location
| City or Location | Estimated Cost Per Hour |
| Sydney, New South Wales | $200 – $800 |
| Melbourne, Victoria | $200 – $800 |
| Brisbane, Gold Coast, Queensland | $200 – $700 |
| Perth, Western Australia | $200 – $700 |
| South Australia | $200 – $600 |
| Tasmania | $200 – $600 |
| Northern Territory | $200 – $600 |
| Australian Capital Territory | $200 – $600 |
How Much Does a Lawyer Cost By Area of Law
| Specialty Area of Law | Estimated Cost Per Hour |
| Criminal Lawyer | $200 – $800 |
| Commercial Lawyer | $330 – $1,000 |
| Family or Divorce Lawyer | $200 – $800 |
| Personal Injury Compensation Lawyer | $300 – $800 |
| Employment Lawyer | $300 – $700 |
| Tax Lawyer | $300 – $800 |
| Intellectual Property Lawyer | $300 – $1,000 |
| Bankruptcy Lawyer | $300 – $1,000 |
| Wills and Estate Lawyer | $300 – $1,000 |
How Much Does a Lawyer Cost By Experience and Qualification
| Qualification and Experience | Estimated Cost Per Hour |
| Partner or Principal Lawyer | $600 – $800 |
| Senior Lawyer or Associate | $500 – $600 |
| Intermediate Lawyer or Associate | $400 – $500 |
| Junior Lawyer | $200 – $400 |
| Graduate Lawyer | $200 – $300 |
| Paralegal or Law Clerk | $100 – $200 |
How Much Does A Barrister Cost
| Barrister by Experience | Estimate Cost Per Day |
| First Year Barrister | $1,500 – $2,000 |
| 2 – 4 Years Barrister | $2,500 – $3,000 |
| 5 – 7 year Barrister | $3,000 – $4,000 |
| 8 + year barrister | $5000 – $6,000 |
| Senior Counsel (QC) Barrister | $7000 – $10,000 |
What If I Can't Afford a Lawyer in Australia?
Legal aid is a Government established body across Australia providing people who cannot afford a lawyer to be granted legal aid assistance. The Legal Aid Commission has its own policies in regard to who is given legal aid relief, generally based on a merit and means test. Those you are granted legal aid for their cases will usually still be required to pay a nominal financial contribution depending on their financial capacity to pay.
Legal aid lawyers are given limited funding, and any extra funding required must be disclosed to the legal aid commission with an extension application to ask legal aid to fund more for the case.
In order to be granted legal aid, the legal aid commission which is established across Australia will assess your capacity to pay by looking at your bank account and any properties you own, as well as whether or not you have someone who can help you pay your legal fees.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.