Looking for answers about lawyers’ fees

THE EDITOR: Please be advised that I am not a lawyer. I am looking on with bated breath for the final outcome regarding a very senior UK lawyer named in an interesting case. What I need to know is what is the going rate for a newly gowned TT lawyer, straight out of the University of the West Indies law school.

What is the hourly rate? Does this depend on the law firm to which one is attached? By the end on one year, what is the young lawyer's financial weight in dollars and cents?

Obviously, the better you are at defending your client, guilt or innocence is relative. You have to win your case to the best of your ability. This is what each client expects. Or, come to a suitable arrangement that helps your client.

As with all means of employment, the better one is at the job the more the expected financial reward.

So, what is the ball-park figure in selecting a lawyer to defend any case? Whether for murder or just plain stealing, wounding or minor charge. All clients must be defended to the best of your ability, whether guilty or innocent. Client confidentiality is and will always be part and parcel of the journey.

It goes without saying that the most talented, most eloquent, most astute lawyers will be able to charge fees commensurate with their expertise. And so it should be.

I am not so naive to think that every lawyer automatically becomes a billionaire over night. Some surgeons are better than others and are expensive to employ to save your life. Your lawyer should similarly be counted and paid.

So, how much will the most senior, most talented legal people in TT charge by the hour? I just need a ball-park figure as some people will be more gifted than others and can demand higher fees.

And last but by no means least, how many aspiring student-lawyers have signed up for classes commencing January 1, 2023?

Being a successful lawyer is not luck and chance. It is about intelligence, talent and a certain amount of political charisma.

Please note that I do not have what is referred to in local parlance as court clothes. I am just a curious civilian.

LYNETTE JOSEPH

Diego Martin