However, hourly rates on their own can be inflexible. In particular they give an incentive to be inefficient. So other matters, apart from hourly rates, come into the reckoning when deciding a fair charge. These include:
Complexity of the matter or difficulty or novelty of the questions raised;
Skill labour specialised knowledge and responsibility involved;
Number and importance of the documents prepared or studied (whatever their length);
Place and circumstances in which the business is transacted. In particular most lawyers will charge extra for work that you request to have done out of normal office hours (9-5 Monday to Friday) or urgently or in an emergency. This is usually an additional 50% of whatever the fee would otherwise be, or 100% between midnight and 7am or on a non-working day.
Amount or value of any money or property involved; in particular under this heading in probate cases a 'value factor' is usually charged of typically 1.5% of the value of the estate;
Whether any land involved is registered;
Importance of the matter to the client;
Approval (express or implied) of the fees or the work, by the client or (if its administration of an estate) beneficiary or willmaker.
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