Offshore Disclosure Lawyer fees Flat-Fee or Hourly
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Offshore Disclosure Lawyer Fees
Offshore Disclosure Attorneys Fees: Flat-Fee or Hourly? With the IRS having both closed OVDP (2018) and ended DIIRSP (2020), the big question is whether Streamlined may be next up on the chopping block. If you are considering attorney representation in offshore disclosure matters, one important component of representation is whether counsel charges hourly or flat-fee. Experienced Offshore Disclosure counsel always charge flat-fees and not hourly fees for representation before the IRS for tax and legal representation.
Why?
It avoids inexperienced counsel from puffing up your bill and charging you for nonsense services that should be bundled into a flat-fee service (tax and legal).
Low Up-Front Hourly Fee Bait-and-Switch for Streamlined & Other Offshore Disclosure Cases
When an attorney is too inexperienced in Offshore Disclosure cases, they will utilize hourly fees to puff up the bill and charge you for services that should be bundled into a flat-fee model. They charge a low up-front retainer to entice you, but ultimately, you end up paying more in the long-run as the attorney keeps burning through and replenishing the retainer.
When it comes to Offshore Disclosure Cases, Tax Specialists will always utilize a flat-fee, full-service model.
For example: You are preparing to speak with your attorney who is charging you hourly.
Here is how the hourly attorneys charge you:
- Review the case (charge)
- Prepare for the call (charge)
- Speak with you (charge)
- “Discuss” with their staff, if they have any staff (charge)
- Write up a file summary (charge)
- Send you an email summary (charge)
- They think about the matter again on the drive home (charge)
- And they prepare an updated summary (charge)
- Review new correspondence from the IRS (charge)
- Prepare & “analyze” correspondence before calling the IRS (charge)
- Waiting on hold for an hour with the IRS (charge)
- Email you to say they couldn’t get through (charge)
- Call the IRS again the next day, on hold for another hour (charge)
- Email you to say the call was unsuccessful (charge)
- Now, you are concerned so you call them to discuss. Leave a voicemail because you can’t get through, and you also email a follow-up.
- Listen to your voicemail and read your email (charge)
- Re-review your file to prepare before calling you (charge)
- And the cycle repeats (charge, replenish retainer, repeat)
Then, after paying this inexperienced attorney thousands of dollars, you start losing confidence and realize you need to hire someone else and start all over again. It is better (for your peace of mind and also your wallet) to just go to an experienced lawyer right from the start, to take care of the matter for you.
Our Streamlined Filing Offshore Lawyers have developed a highly-effective representation fee model that is used by other experienced law firms across the globe.
*Here is a real-life example of how the bait-and-switch works.
Benefits of Flat-Fee Offshore Disclosure Lawyers
All tax and legal preparation for offshore compliance matters should be handled in-house by a Board-Certified Tax Lawyer Specialist and their team.
The entire matter from beginning-to-end should be flat-fee, full-service, and all-inclusive. Each client has a unique story, with their own specific facts and circumstances. No two Streamlined cases are the same and fees should be representative of that specific client’s case.
Fees should only be determined after the Attorney has spoken in detail with the client — and not some prefabricated fee.
And, to protect the attorney-client privilege (and avoid a court rejecting Kovel), the full case (Tax and Legal) should be handled in-house.
International Tax Lawyer Specialist Team: Golding & Golding
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