What Does Limited Scope Representation Mean?

Typically, an attorney will represent a client from the start to finish of their case and can often have a retainer for their client that will need to be replenished with funds before more legal work is done. This can become costly for some individuals especially those with extensive cases requiring long hours of work on the attorney’s part. In some cases there are aspects that you as an individual can handle and don’t necessarily need an attorney for every small step, which is when limited scope representation would be most helpful.

Limited scope representation is when an attorney agrees to help a client with a specific service rather than the whole case. This is a more cost-efficient way to obtain an attorney to help you with your legal needs but also allow you to keep working on other parts of your case that you can handle on your own. Limited scope representation means that you save money while still getting quality legal representation but only for a portion of time. In addition to being more economical, the price of your service may be a flat fee meaning the price is upfront and straightforward. In some situations it may be a flat fee, in others it may be an hourly rate which you can discuss with your attorney depending on what work you need done. You and your attorney will come to an agreement regarding what tasks you are in charge of handling and what tasks they’re in charge of.

Some tasks a limited scope attorney can help you with could be planning such as strategizing what would help you the most and drafting a petition for something such as a divorce or legal name change. All these things depend on your circumstances and your case but an attorney can review the documents you’ve drafted in order to ensure that they meet the legal requirements and that they are all finished. If needed, an attorney can even show up in court for you with limited scope representation if that is part of the agreement you make. If later on as the case progresses, a certain aspect becomes too much for you, it is possible to shift from limited scope representation to full representation. You and your attorney would need to come to a new agreement. This can be super helpful if the workload was manageable at first but as time went on became strenuous and led to too much stress and discomfort. It can be difficult to juggle work, family and personal life, all while focusing on the legal work on your case.

Your attorney is there to help you and limited scope representation allows you to budget your legal representation fees and the money you’ll spend for your lawyer. Your attorney will be able to help you with the difficult tasks that are part of a court case and may be confusing for someone without legal experience or knowledge. If you have questions, be sure to ask them when meeting with your potential attorney to help the process go as smoothly as possible.

Thank you to the accident lawyers at Brandy Austin Law Firm for the above blog.