Priced before the work begins.
Flat per scope for most matters, hourly for M&A and certain others. Every fee is committed in writing in the engagement letter before any work begins, so you know the number, the deliverables, and the timeline up front.
How the firm prices.
Flat Per Scope
Most matters. The fee, the deliverables, the timeline, and the rounds of revisions are committed in writing in the engagement letter before any drafting begins. No meter running on a phone call, no anxiety over a clarification, and no incentive for the firm to stretch the work.
Hourly
M&A, international tax, and matters where the scope is not reasonably bounded at the outset. The rate, the fee estimate, and the billing protocol are set in the engagement letter, with regular updates on actual versus estimated.
What flat fees look like across the practice.
The ranges below are directional. The actual fee for any matter is set in the engagement letter after the intake, calibrated to the specifics.
Contracts
Single-document engagements (NDAs, contractor and consulting agreements, MSA templates, founder and partnership agreements, licensing and retainer agreements, cease-and-desist letters) range from the high three figures to the low five figures by type and parties involved. Counterparty redlines run per round.
LLC Formation
Single-member formations (operating agreement, EIN, Statement of Information, FinCEN BOI) run in the low-to-mid four figures. Multi-member formations with a tailored operating agreement run mid-four to low-five figures. Amendment and restatement scopes per matter.
S-Corporation Election
Eligibility analysis, filing, shareholder consents, and the Reasonable Compensation Memorandum run in the low-to-mid four figures. Late-election relief and a combined LLC plus S-corp election scope higher.
Tax Strategy Memorandum
A focused single-strategy memorandum runs low-to-mid four figures. A comprehensive multi-strategy memo (entity, retirement, charitable giving, real estate, qualified small business stock) runs mid-four to low-five figures. Multi-entity and multi-state memoranda scope individually.
Trademark
A standard USPTO application with clearance search, drafting, prosecution through standard office actions, and registration runs low-to-mid four figures per class, plus USPTO filing fees. Substantive office-action responses scope to the ground asserted.
Startup Year-One Package
Entity formation, founder agreements with vesting and IP assignment, EIN and Statement of Information, FinCEN BOI report, employee CIIAA template, MSA and contractor templates, a U.S. trademark application, and a Tax Strategy Memorandum run high four to low five figures.
Creator Engagements
Brand deal review and negotiation runs high three figures to low five figures per deal. Manager or talent agreement review runs low-to-mid four figures. The Creator Foundation Package runs high four to low five figures; the Annual Creator Counsel Package scopes per deal volume.
E-Commerce
A year-one package (LLC formation, operating agreement, S-corp election where applicable, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, supplier and 3PL templates, influencer template, trademark filing) runs high four to low five figures.
Nonprofit Formation
Streamlined-application formations run high four to mid-five figures plus filing fees. Full-application formations (recognition narrative, full bylaws, governance policies, compliance calendar) run mid-five to low-six figures. Private foundations scope higher.
Prenup & Postnup
Standard agreements for couples with moderate separate assets and a clean characterization scheme run high four to low five figures. Complex matters involving business interests, startup equity, expected family wealth, IP, or multi-state assets run mid-five figures.
Estate Planning Starter
The four-document package (revocable living trust, pour-over will, durable financial power of attorney, advance healthcare directive) for a moderate asset profile runs mid-four to low-five figures. Multi-entity or charitable-integration plans scope higher.
Property Transfer
A single transfer between an individual and a revocable trust, with deed and supporting documentation, runs high three to low four figures. Transfers into a wholly-owned LLC and parent-child transfers run low-to-mid four figures. Multi-property restructurings scope per matter.
Professional Corporation
Standard formations (bylaws, shareholder consent, S-corp election where applicable, EIN and Statement of Information, FinCEN BOI report, licensing-board registration) run in the mid-four figures.
Where the scope isn’t bounded up front.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Total fees on a sub-$25M transaction typically run in the low six figures on the seller side, depending on the structure, the diligence findings, the negotiation cycles, and the post-closing matters. Buy-side is similar. A fee estimate is set at the engagement-letter stage and updated as the scope changes materially.
International Tax
Fees scope to the matter. Outbound and inbound transactions, cross-border M&A overlays, treaty analysis, and U.S.-side coordination on foreign-counsel work run hourly, with the rate set out in the engagement letter.
What the Fee Covers
Drafting, the strategic and substantive analysis, the consolidated rounds of revisions in the engagement letter, the communications across the engagement, and delivery of the final work product. Filing fees and third-party costs (USPTO, IRS, courier, recording, valuation) are billed in addition where applicable, disclosed up front.
Earned Upon Receipt
Flat-scope fees are earned upon receipt under the Master Engagement Agreement, consistent with the controlling flat-fee framework. You keep the right to a refund of any unearned portion based on the reasonable value of the services performed, honored where you terminate mid-matter.
Why This Structure
The engagement letter is the right place for the fee conversation, not the bill. You commit when the work is scoped; the firm commits when the letter is signed. The fee question is answered before the work begins, and it stays answered.
Want a number for your matter?
Send a description of the situation. The firm responds within one business day with a written proposal and a preliminary read. The first email is at no charge.
Get Started →