Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Attorney Expense Survey
Compensation for Privately-Appointed Counsel
The Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers surveyed our membership to attempt to determine the averagemonthly cost of overhead for private practice attorneys. The cost of overhead should be considered when offering compensation for indigent representation here in TennesseeTennessee, as it is a critical component of the practice of law. Private practice attorneys have business-related overhead that have tothat must be covered by the hourly rate they charge. Indigent clients should be given the opportunity for fair and just treatment under the law and in return attorneys should be adequately compensatedto cover their business overhead.
Monthly Overhead Survey Results
Our survey had yielded 118 respondentsfrom 38 counties across Tennessee. We included defined overhead as including any expenses required for attorneys to operate their business. Common business expenses include: rent, internet, phone, legal research services, business cards, website, malpractice insurance, health insurance, bar associations fees, parking, employee salary, etc.
Total Monthly Business Expense:$994,318.01
Average Monthly Business Expense:$8,426.42
Hourly Rate Needed to Cover Monthly Business Expense[SC1]:$52.66
The current compensation rate of $40.00 per hour means that the average attorney who is assigned an indigent case will operating in the red by the amount of be losing $12.66 per hour on theper case. Appointed counsel may be forced to yet their overhead is not going to decrease so theywill have to make up the difference by taking on more clients to cover the cost of indigent cases. [SC2]
Monthly Overhead Attorney Comments
The survey included a section for allowing respondents to leave comments about reflecting how the cost of overhead makes representing indigent cases cost prohibitive. We are including the comments with this report so that the Task Force may understand howsthat the current rate of compensation has a direct impact on our attorneys[SC3].
Overhead, including staff, makes it cost prohibitive to take much appointed casework. Further, not being allowed to charge for staff time working on appointed matters creates a situation where my entire system has to be changed on a client by client basis, increasing the likelihood that something will be overlooked and decreasing my productivity as a whole.
I currently do not have any full-time employees. I have at different times had a secretary. However I could not afford to keep paying someone $10 to $15 per hour while I am in court only being paid $40. That does not take into account all the hours that are put into a case that you do not get paid for because it's over the cap. I currently have a case I was appointed on in 2014. The trial has had to be reset 2 because of the Judge's illness and the death of my father. We finally went to trial November 10th and it ended in mistrial. My client is housed in Whiteville, a CCA prison. It takes me 2 hours of phone calls over a period of 3 to 4 weeks to just get an appointment set up to see him. My client is charged with aggravated statutory rape and is probably not guilty. He deserves the very best representation I can give him and the most I can be paid is $1,500.00. If retained on this case, my retainer would have been $10,000.00. At this point, (and we have a new trial scheduled in April 2017), I am not getting paid for at least 1/2 of the hours I have already put into this case because I hit the $1,500 cap a long time ago. The other MAJOR issue is there have been several cases that are not even worth my time to sit and enter into the ICE system to get paid. It is the most user unfriendly program I have ever had to use.
If I was paid a reasonable fee, I could hire an assistant and could do a lot more business. I have to do everything as cheaply as possible. Just this morning I was lamenting that I have to use the cheapest internet research available as my income from appointed cases does not justify a better service.
At the current rates, every hour of an appointed case is a financial loss for our office. Not figuratively or metaphorically. Not an opportunity cost loss. An actual, out-of-pocket, direct loss of money from our bank account.
I used to accept appointed cases on a regular basis, but the rates of compensation did not come close to covering my overhead. As an experienced criminal defense attorney who cares deeply for my clients, it is unfortunate that defendants are being denied representation by experienced attorneys like me. I have not handled an appointed case in several years, but would do so if the rates were increased to a fair rate.
I was a public defender for over half of my career. I truly value representing the poor. However, I cannot afford to handle appointed cases to pay the bills. I'm the sole earner in my family running a solo practice. I have to pay for private health insurance. The amount of money I have to bring in just to cover expenses is frightening. Every appointed case I take is more about charity and trying to help those in need rather than making money. That would certainly change if the rates and caps were closer to the federal indigent compensation rates.
$2000.00 / $40.00 per hour = 50 hours of appointed work to pay ONE month's overhead.
I have a very streamlined practice - a solo attorney. I have a $600 office and a cell phone. I have no savings, no retirement, no staff, and I'm always trying to cut costs to make ends meet. To do the job right though, I must have legal research, insurance, and practice management software.
With indigent defense you also have to spend considerable time billing, which you lose, because you don't get any added administrative cost.
Our firm actually loses money taking appointed cases. We have to take them because we practice criminal law. In order for us to not take a loss we have to work weekends and nights when we should be able to spend time with our families. In the end we get more cases but less time to work them since it's a loss to touch those files. It is shameful that lawyer pay on appointed work makes it a financial burden on the lawyers... we're made to pay a professional privilege tax but all it takes is a paralegal or two and some rent before that $40 per hour is a loss.
The amount of time I put in to my indigent cases is overwhelming compared to most others. I treat my indigent clients the same as private pay clients. It is extremely frustrating to argue with the State over such small amounts every time I attempt to bill for my time.
I will often spend money on clients that does not get reimbursed by the AOC because there is a cap.
It’s upsetting that I have spent so much time, effort, and money into obtaining the best legal education and training I could, and the Tennessee Supreme Court believes everyone else in the courtroom deserves a higher rate of pay than me.
This is my first year of practice, so I'm trying to keep my overhead as low as possible. I primarily work on appointed cases in General Sessions. My overhead is about as low as it can get if you want to have a physical office. Even still, it takes me about 9 general sessions cases a month to cover my overhead. So I'm not even making a profit until I'm working on my 10th case.
I pay anywhere between $15.00 to $23.00 per hour in overhead for every hour of allowable compensation for court appointed work. I'm a solo-practitioner in private practice who is essentially being ordered by the state to donate the above costs to defend its citizens. To make things worse, there is no guarantee that I'll get paid for the court-appointed work that I do. I have no idea how long I'll have to wait for reimbursement after the work is done. I'm ordered to provide these legal services on credit, an interest-free loan, as well as having to pay the shortfall in my overhead compensation. It's insulting to think that I should have to explain to state employees the difference between receiving a government salary and running a private business. The system in Tennessee is state sponsored theft.
When lawyers are stretched thin - unable to afford administrative staff - that's when they literally run out of time to communicate with clients like they should - that is when they end up with malpractice problems - that is when they leave the practice of law. If you really want access to justice - you have to support the ground troops trying to provideit. All the hotlines and once or twice a year pro bono cases taken by corporate attorneys can't fill the hole. In rural areas like where I practice, the research by economic development groups shows functional illiteracy rates of over well 50% of the general population.Attorneys representing them face a higher challenge communicating with them both in comprehension terms and accessing them. I spend too much time trying to reach them at 5 different numbers because their phone numbers and addresses change (go phones or they are now living in a different persons home, etc). Theability to afford a $400 a month phone service would help tremendously. There are more personal reasons to stop practicing indigent defense than to continue practicing it. Bottom line is: being able to afford part time administrative support would go a long way to keeping attorneys involved in indigent defense work.
I am financially unable to take appointments because of my overhead. The delayed payment (sometimes years) and free work (two cases disposed of on the same day=1 cap) make the system unworkable.
The rate of pay is so low that it no longer made sense for me to take appointed cases. I lose money the minute my admin. staff begins to open the file. I notified the judges in Robertson County over a year ago that I could no longer accept appointed cases. I still have an appointed murder case that's over 3 years old and one that is a year old. Theonly way that I would consider accepting them again is if the rate of pay were increased to $70/hr or more.
My firm's overhead/expenses are for a four attorney firm with one full time secretary, one full time paralegal, one full time real estate closing agent and two part-time staff. It does not include salaries of the 4 attorneys but does include salaries for all office staff and normal operating expenses
Obviously, at my level of overhead, I am not able to do much indigent defense work ($40 hr would take 120 hours of work just to cover my overhead). However, to provide the service that paying clients expect, requires significantly more overhead, and to provide the level of service needed to clients facing federal criminal prosecutions requires yet more. We are nickel and diming the representation of indigent defendants in Tennessee, and the result is not cost-savings. Instead, it is more meritorious PCR allegations, more viable 2254 habeas actions, and more unjust convictions and excessive sentences. Properly funding indigent defense should ultimately save Tennessee money, and should best serve justice.
The fees set for appointed lawyers constitute indentured servitude.
The current hourly rates and caps do not cover overhead for our office. I have had a 4.5 year AOC murder case that has done its best to put my firm out of business. Please help ensure that indigent defendants receive adequate representation by looking more closely at the Federal CJA Panel Act model and compensation rates for panel attorneys.
It is a challenge to run a law practice and to continue to take appointed cases with increased overhead. In a small town it is difficult to find willing attorneys when conflicts arise and if the pay is not increased it will be a detriment to legal community.
Yes, I run a bare bones minimal practice without a fancy office or unnecessary support staff. The TN rate of pay for indigent defense is embarrassing. Experienced/competent lawyers cannot justify taking on indigent defense with such a low compensation rate. Indigent defendants are left with young inexperienced lawyers and wash outs. Both groups are generally incompetent to take on complex defenses.
Only one full time support person for two attorneys. This is 1/2 of the overhead.
I included my $300 a month in advertising.
I'd really like to have office space but with the money available I can't afford an office, health insurance or any kind of staff. Alabama pays $75 per hour, which I feel is an indictment of our system.
Bear in mind that I have no employees. If I had any employees, my overhead would more than double.
If it's not being considered along with raising the hourly rates/cap, I think there should be an allowance for an investigator and experts for PCR's.
The number for expense was derived based on my partnership numbers and ownership interest in the partnership, dividing overall percentages for expenses. Our monthly expenses as a partnership are approximately $36,500 per month.
Overhead of $10,000 is an average, but it fluctuates on bar dues, randomly occurring expenses, new equipment. Health care would be more but I receive it through my wife's corporate employer.
Overhead, including staff makes it cost prohibitive to take much appointed casework. Further, not being allowed to charge for staff time working on appointed matters creates a situation where my entire system has to be changed on a client-by-client basis, increasing the likelihood that something will be overlooked and decreasing my productivity as awhole.
I do not have a physical office, so add about $1200-$1500 to the above total to have the office. Thanks.
I am with a firm, so my expenses are divided by 11 attorneys.
Health Insurance is going up and up.
This budget includes "salary" payments made to myself as a sole proprietor that are necessarily included in my calculations of how much revenue I must generate. This does not include a consideration of the amount I set aside for taxes, which would add 25-30% on top of that net amount.
This is a low figure. I did not include mailbox, printing, office supplies, computer supplies. This is just rent, cell, insurance, marketing, research, staff, taxes, parking, insurance, accountant.
The fact that our overhead expenses keep going up with the economy, but the rate of pay for indigent clients has not gone up and apparently they don't plan on allowing it to go up or promoting it to increase anytime in the near future. Attorneys cannot afford to work criminal defense for these rates.
Travel expenses to out of county courts.
I split expenses with one other practitioner. She is generally considered to be one of the most frugal people in the county. We have pared our expenses where possible. We have two full-time employees, and both of us have Lexis provided from other sources, so do not have to pay for our own legal research service. Also, I am on my wife's healthinsurance plan, so this does not reflect health insurance costs for me.
Question # 1 is far too general unless you divide rent, internet, phone insurance bar association fees employee salaries by the 360 dyads and multiply that sum by the number of nays spent exclusively and other time by the number of case going to court.
I haven't had health insurance since October 31, 2011 (when COBRA ran out from my previous full-time employment). My expenses also do not include rent since I work from home and cannot justify the expense of an office compared to my income. My primary source of income comes from indigent defense but, occasionally, I do get a boost from some personal injury cases I take. Software ($89) Minimum Marketing ($100) Legal Research ($250) Virtual Receptionists ($500) Part-time assistant ($200) Taxes / Membership Dues ($80) Malpractice Insurance ($50) Phone and Internet ($110)
I feel that I am on the lower end of expenses. And I am lucky for that. I know many other people that have much higher overhead.
Overhead amount does not include health insurance for pay/draw for any attorneys. My practice consists of 4 lawyers.
Due to a favorable rent deal, I think my overhead is probably a bit lower than normal for a solo practitioner in Knox County.
I am senior counsel in a firm with 5 lawyers, 2 secretaries, and a paralegal.
Fewer and fewer attorneys here will do criminal/juvenile defense work. Fiscal accountability is okay but indigent defense needs to be realistically funded to be effective.
I do without allot of things such as health insurance that would have increased the cost.
Are you serious? It's a joke. I usually do not even bill unless its Murder case; 11/28/2016
The task force should consider overhead & expense as a percentage of gross income, not as a stand-alone number.
We have been blessed with a very successful practice, but the monthly expenses go up and up.
Consider investigative expenses, case expenses, disability insurance, cell phone, fax machines, copy machines, furniture, library, supplies, taxes, court reporter expenses, professional shredders, and a whole lot more
My expenses would be much more, but I cannot afford an office, so I work from home.
Raise the hourly rate and get rid of the caps. Overworked and underpaid.