For small cases, is the cost of hiring a lawyer is too high, given the amount at stake?
With lawyers charging $150-$250 per hour, and any contested court case racking up dozens of hours of attorney time, it is obvious that attorney fees can quickly dwarf what is at stake in many disputes. But the problem is really much larger: No matter what the size of the case, most people don’t have the kind of money it takes to hire a lawyer in the first place. This means that unless the dispute is the type that lawyers will take for a contingency fee — a percentage of the total recovery — the person will either have to go it alone or give up the lawsuit altogether.
