Prices
Excellent professional assistance at competitive prices
We strive to provide good professional assistance at competitive prices. Usually, the price of legal services will be determined by the time elapsed, but may also vary based on the nature and degree of difficulty of the assignment. In simple and clear cases, we will be able to give a fixed price in advance.
We are subject to the Norwegian Bar Association and in consumer matters as well The Norwegian Competition Authority's price information regulations This means that at the start of the assignment, the client will receive an Assignment Confirmation which will state which hourly rates will be used as a basis, how the fee is calculated and an overview of our invoicing routines.
The hourly calculation is based on a minimum workload of 15 minutes for each work session in the case. Separate outlays in connection with the case are invoiced in addition to fees for time elapsed.
Note that depending on the type of case, you may be entitled to free legal aid or have legal aid insurance.
- Timeprisene avhenger av om oppdraget er for private klienter eller næringsklienter. Timeprisen for oppdraget fremgår av oppdragsbekreftelsen.
- For private clients:
- Our hourly prices vary from NOK 2,200 ex. VAT, i.e. NOK 2,750 incl. VAT to NOK 2,900 ex. VAT, i.e. NOK 3,625 including VAT
- In cases with free legal aid/free proceedings, the public fee rate is used instead, currently NOK 1,215 excl. VAT, i.e. NOK 1,519 including VAT
- For business clients:
- Our hourly prices vary from NOK 2,800 ex. VAT to NOK 3,600 ex. VAT.
Fees and costs
Fee
The hourly prices vary from the public fee rate (currently NOK 1,140) to NOK NOK 3,600 + VAT. The fee is calculated based on a combination of elapsed time and the complexity of the case. Agreed hourly rates are included in the assignment confirmation. If the assignment is of a limited nature, the fee will be calculated at the end of the assignment, otherwise it must be expected that the fee will be settled regularly by invoices on account. Along with the invoice, the client will always be sent a specified time list of work carried out.
Outlays/costs
Outlays/costs to be covered by the client must be separately agreed. This does not apply if they are an integral part of the assignment, for example document fee/land registry fee or court fee and other costs incurred in a legal process. Onward invoicing of outlays and costs will normally result in added value added tax.
Advance
At any time in the case, demands may be made for advance payment of the fee. The advance will be credited to our client account. Payment of an advance is considered approval that fees incurred can be settled against the balance in the client's account. The amount of the advance is irrelevant to the final fee. Any excess amount on the client account will be paid to the client at the end of the assignment.
Fees not eligible for coverage
If a case is brought before the courts, and the case is won in court with court costs, but the court reduces the fee, or the fee is not fully eligible for coverage, the client is still fully liable to us, unless otherwise separately agreed.
Matters before the conciliation board
In cases before the conciliation board, claims can only be made for a limited coverage of the costs from the other party, cf. the Disputes Act section 6-13. The case is nevertheless settled in the usual way between lawyer and client.
Litigation of small claims
If a case is brought before the courts, and the case concerns a disputed sum under NOK. NOK 250,000, the case will be processed according to special rules on the small claims process, the Disputes Act, chapter 10. In such cases, special limitations apply to the liability for legal costs towards the other party.
Even if you win the case, and are awarded court costs, the other party's liability for costs of legal aid and expert co-judges in proceedings in the first instance will be limited to up to 20% of the case's dispute sum, however always up to NOK. NOK 2,500 and never more than NOK. NOK 50,000. In addition, there is responsibility for VAT on the aforementioned costs, and responsibility for court fees, evidence and travel expenses.
The restriction does not apply in the event of an appeal . The restriction can also exceptionally be set aside if one party has obviously filed a lawsuit or counterclaimed without reason, or has caused the other party costs through negligence.
The client will be fully responsible for our entire fee, even if it is a small claims process. Even if the client wins the case with legal costs, the client must therefore expect not to be reimbursed more than a limited proportion of the fee from the other party. The remaining salary is covered in the usual way, with or without legal aid cover.
Valuation case
In expropriation and land acquisition cases, the public sector will normally cover the necessary legal fees for the landowner in accordance with the principles in Section 54 of the Appropriation Act. Where the landowner wants assistance beyond the time and costs covered by the public sector, the client is responsible for covering these costs.
During negotiations prior to the assessment, the public authorities will to a limited extent cover costs in connection with appeals pursuant to section 15 of the Property Act. Costs for assistance prior to the assessment are requested, the client must cover themselves, to the extent that this is not covered by the public authorities.
Free legal aid
Through the state's Free Legal Aid Scheme, in certain types of cases, you can have legal assistance fully or partially covered by the state. Examples of cases where you can get free legal aid are family cases, some types of appeals to Nav, compensation for personal injury, dismissal/eviction from housing or dismissal in employment. In exceptional cases, you can also be given free legal aid in other cases. If you have insurance that covers the costs of legal assistance, you will not normally receive free legal aid.
The legal aid scheme
According to the Legal Aid Act, the right to legal assistance can be granted for certain cases, which is covered by the state scheme for free legal aid (free legal advice and/or free legal proceedings). Some cases are eligible for coverage without means testing, while other cases as a general rule require a means test.
Income and asset limits
The Legal Aid Act's income and asset limits are currently NOK 320,000 and NOK 100,000 respectively for single persons, and respectively NOK 490,000 and NOK 100,000 for spouses and others who live together with joint finances. The income limit applies to gross income, while the asset limit applies to net assets. All taxable income is included in relation to the income limit. As a general rule, the asset calculation is based on equation values. There are some assets that are normally exempt when determining the assets. This particularly applies to housing.
Deductible
If the gross annual income exceeds NOK 100,000, a deductible corresponding to the public fee rate, currently NOK 1,121, must be paid under any circumstances.
Application for submitted documentation
If the conditions are assumed to be met, we will apply on your behalf for you to be granted free legal aid. However, for cases that are means-tested, this requires that you provide us with information and documentation that the financial condition has been met.
Eget ansvar for salæret
For det tilfelle at fri rettshjelp ikke innvilges, må du påregne å dekke saksomkostningene selv. For det tilfelle at fri rettshjelp kun innvilges for et visst antall timer, må du betale for den tidsbruk som overstiger det innvilgede timeantall. I enkelte saker innvilges det kun rettshjelp for et fastsatt antall timer (stykkpris). De nærmere regler om stykkpris finnes på www.advokatforeningen.no.
Special rules for free proceedings
If free proceedings are granted, you must pay a deductible of 25%, however no more than 5 times the legal aid rate, a total of NOK 5,605. If the court or the county governor reduces the number of hours the state must charge for in cases of free proceedings, you are liable for the time spent that exceeds the approved number of hours. We emphasize that a possible grant of free proceedings does not entail coverage of the other party's legal costs, should one be fined for these. In this case, you are fully liable to the other party. This also applies if the other party's legal fees are calculated based on normal hourly rates. However, it is possible to apply separately to the court or the county governor for such coverage.
Legal aid insurance
As part of insurance contracts such as insurance for contents, house, apartment or cottage, you will usually also find legal aid insurance. Through the insurance, you will then in many cases be able to cover your expenses for a lawyer if a dispute arises. When buying/selling a home, home purchase and change of ownership insurance will normally also fully cover the costs of a lawyer in the event of a dispute. Most trade unions also have legal aid schemes. Check with your trade union. Travel insurance and car and boat insurance can contain legal aid insurance, but to a somewhat limited extent. Legal aid insurances have a fixed excess that you must pay, normally NOK 2,000 - NOK 5,000, and as a general rule, legal aid insurance will then cover 80 per cent of your legal expenses up to a certain amount.
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Dispute
Certain cases may be covered by legal aid insurance. This is stated in your insurance policies. It is usually a condition that a dispute has arisen in the case.
Scope of coverage
If the case is covered by legal aid insurance, fees and disbursements can be covered by the insurance company according to the terms of the policy. Special policy conditions may apply for traders, housing associations etc. If the conditions are met, the company will normally be able to cover up to NOK 100,000 of our fee including VAT, but in any case no more than the value of the dispute. In such cases, a deductible is calculated, which usually amounts to NOK 4,000 + 20% of the excess fee.
Notification deadlines
If this is applicable, we ask you to provide us with information about the insurance company and policy number, so that we can take care of the matter reported to the company and collect the relevant refund when this is found appropriate. We emphasize that it is important to notify the company of any dispute as soon as possible. If the company's notification deadlines are not met, access to cover will normally cease. Normally, this deadline expires when 1 year has passed since the dispute arose and contact has been made with a lawyer.
Client responsibility for excess fees
We specify that our fee is not limited to the amount that the insurance company finds it willing to cover. The client is fully responsible for this. In the event that legal aid insurance is granted, our fee shall have priority over other claims that may be required to be covered under the insurance.
