What Others Say
“Camara & Sibley's flat fees are the only sensible way to handle defense litigation. Flat fees are just the most obvious example of Camara & Sibley's real-world, problem-solving approach to business cases.”
— Charles M. Lusk, Lusk Properties Inc.
“Camara & Sibley are the most efficient lawyers I have seen for cross-border transactions and litigation. I have worked with them on deals from France and Mexico. Their flat fees and willingness to take business risks alongside our companies make them unique among international law firms.”
— Pierre Baradat, President, GPC Services (Mexico) and Geoservices S.A. (United States)
“Camara & Sibley . . . shuns hourly billing, long the mainstay of the legal profession. Instead, the firm charges a flat rate . . . . Hourly billing is simply a way for law firms to mitigate risk, and risk doesn't bother Camara.”
— Houston Chronicle
Flat-Fee Services
Camara & Sibley has always emphasized flat fees and other alternatives to hourly billing. We believe that flat fees give lawyers the right incentive to assess cases early. Flat fees also place the risk of adverse legal outcomes that increase the cost of a matter on the party best able to manage that risk, which is the law firm, not the client.
Clients who pay flat fees pay for the value we deliver, not the time we spend doing it; accordingly, flat fees incentivize us to deliver the most value we can as efficiently as possible. When combined with a success element, where we are paid more or less depending on the ultimate outcome of the matter, flat fees align lawyers' and clients' incentives.
We negotiate flat fees for major matters on a case-by-case basis. Some recent examples include $100,000 for the trial of an employment class action (including trial only, not any earlier litigation); $150,000 for the retrial following grant of a motion for new trial of a fraud case over ownership of a hotel; $50,000 plus 1% of deal value for a spinoff of a chemical plant and accompanying private offering; and $800,000 for defense of an environmental toxic-tort class action from filing through trial.