Variety of Fees When You Hired an Attorneys in Indonesia

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By:

Team of Hukumindo

Previously, the Hukumindo.com platform has talk about "Adoption According to the Sharia Law", read also "How To Check The Validity of Indonesian Advocates?", "What Legal Ties Underlie The Relationship Between The Client and The Lawyer?", and on this occasion we will discuss about ''Variety of Fees When You Hired an Attorneys in Indonesia".

When you decide to hire an advocate, one of the logical consequences is the cost. Advocates is not Marvel Super Heroes with free services to battle the crime, an advocate is a professional, this profession works to resolve any of the legal matters that you are currently facing. And in carrying out its work requires energy, and energy incurs costs. In this article, we will discuss the various types of advocate fees, the various factors that influence the level of attorney fees and the payment scheme method.

There Are No Fixed Standards Regarding Attorneys Fees in Indonesia

Article 21 paragraph (2) of Law no. 18 of 2003 concerning Advocates reads as follows:[1]

"1. Advocates are entitled to receive an honorarium for legal services that have been provided to their clients.

2. The amount of the Honorarium for Legal Services as referred to in paragraph (1) is determined fairly based on the agreement of both parties".

Thus, when an advocate carries out his profession, he has the right to receive an honorarium from his client. Regarding the amount of honorarium received by an advocate, it depends on the agreement with his/her client. In other words, the amount of the attorneys honorarium is different from one to another. It is no standard, and depends on various variables. So don't be surprised when you see advocate X who is full of wealth, but there are also advocates who are willing to donate their profession for justice and humanity who get little pay.

There are several factors that influence the high and low fees of an advocate, namely:[2]

1. Lawyer's name. This has become one of the common factors in using the services of an advocate. The more famous the name of the lawyer you will use, the more expensive the fees you will have to pay to hire the services of the advocate.
2. Legal issues. The second thing that determines the cost of services is how big the legal problem you are facing. If you are hit by a complicated case, the tariffs charged will be even more expensive.
3. The area or residence of the attorney. Even though they are taking care of the same case, sometimes the fees for attorneys who are domiciled in city X can be more expensive than those in city Y. This is not something strange, because advocates generally also assess the average standard of living in the place where they live.
4. Client condition. In addition to residence, lawyers will also determine fees or rates based on the financial condition of their prospective clients. No need to worry, because there are several lawyers who are willing to provide free legal aid services for people who are really financially incapable.
5. Lawyer flight hours. The last factor that also determines the cost of the services of an advocate is their flying hours. If a lawyer is experienced in handling many cases, of course their rates will be even more expensive.

Just a note, in the opinion of the author, the client must really carefully examine the need for an advocate who will handle his/her case. Don't just consider the name, also consider the competence and flight hours. Lawyer X, for example, often appears on TV with accessories worth billions, and declares himself to be a specialist lawyer in the field of Y. Although not always, but not necessarily he is competent in other fields of law, or at least someone is more competent in other fields. In this condition, you can choose another lawyer with a variety of rates that are more suitable for your pocket.

Variety of Attorneys Fees in Indonesia

There are several types of advocate fees in Indonesia:[3]

1. Lawyer fees, which are usually paid in advance as a professional fee.
2. Operational fees, which are incurred by clients while their cases are handled by lawyers.
3. Success fee, with a percentage determined from the agreement between the lawyer and the client. The success fee is given by the client if the lawyer wins the case. However, if you lose the trial, the lawyer will not get a success fee.

As mentioned above, these three types of attorney fees are the most common. Lawyer fees are fees that must be paid by clients related to the profession of their attorney as an advocate. So when someone is legally qualified as an advocate, then he or she is legally entitled to get a lawyer fee immediately after having a client. Operational fees are costs that have to be incurred by the client when the lawyer moves to take care of his/her case, the cost to buy gasoline, the cost to buy drink and food, the cost to buy internet connection, toll fees, the cost of printing documents, etc. is included in it. Success fee is a cost that must be paid by the client when the case handled by the lawyer he/she has appointed results in a victory. The rate varies, it can be at 10% of the total assets obtained. For example, if a person gets a share of joint property from his marriage of 1 billion Rupiah, then his successful lawyer fee could be 10%, which is 100 million Rupiah.

As for the payment procedure, it is usually divided into several schemes, namely: 1. Volume, payments made include the total number of legal problems that will be or are being faced by the Client; 2. Hourly basis, that is, a payment procedure whose calculation is depend on how long the case is handled, for example based on hours; 3. Amount won, usually advocates like this handle for clients who do not have the cost to pay for the services of an advocate at the beginning, so that according to the agreement they will give a percentage of the amount generated from handling cases that have been properly resolved by advocates (Note: this method of payment is rare to used right now because it is detrimental to advocates from a professional perspective. Later, many directed it to the Legal Aid Institute as a solution); 4. Retainer clients, this mechanism is widely used by companies where the use of legal services uses a payment system on a regular basis, usually within a period of 6 months or even more; 5. Legal Aid Institutions (Lembaga Bantuan Hukum), usually provide assistance free of charge, of course for those who have a below average economy with various requirements that must be met. Usually one of the requirements that must be met is a certificate of poor economical incapacity from the Village Head or Sub District Head.[4] 

And if you have any difficulties regarding this topic, contact us, feel free in 24 hours, we will be glad to help you.

*) For further information please contact:

Mahmud Kusuma Advocate

Law Office

Jakarta - Indonesia.

E-mail: mahmudkusuma22@gmail.com

________________

References:

1. Law no. 18 of 2003 concerning Advocates.

2. "Info Terbaru Kisaran Biaya Sewa Pengacara (Advokat)", harga.web.id., Diakses pada tanggal 10 Februari 2022, https://harga.web.id/biaya-sewa-pengacara-dan-metode-pembayarannya.info

3. "CARA MUDAH MENGHITUNG BIAYA JASA PENGACARA/ADVOKAT/KONSULTAN HUKUM", www.saplaw.top., Diakses pada tanggal 10 Februari 2022, https://www.saplaw.top/cara-mudah-menghitung-biaya-jasa-pengacara-advokat-konsultan-hukum/

4. Ibid.