Attorney Fees in Florida Education Cases

Attorney fees are one of those topics that no one enjoys discussing, but an important subject to discuss early on when retaining an attorney. In most situations attorney’s fees are governed by the “American Rule,” which, in contrast to the “English Rule,” means that each party is responsible for paying its own attorney’s fees whether it wins or loses. Under the English Rule, if you prevail in litigation, the other party is often responsible for paying your attorney’s fees.

However, there are a number of situations, created by state or federal statute or by contract, in which fees and costs may be shifted to the losing party when you win. We will always do our best to take advantage of the means to shift fees to the other side if you have a good case, but you need to be aware that shifting fees to the losing party is the exception rather than the rule.

Fee-Shifting in Education Cases

• A charter school takes a dispute with its sponsor to an administrative law judge and prevails: the judge awards reasonable attorney fees and costs (section 1002.33(7)(b), Florida Statutes).
• A charter school prevails in a hearing on nonrenewal or termination: the judge awards reasonable attorney fees and costs to the prevailing party (section 1002.33(8)).
• A parent prevails in a case under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: the court may award reasonable attorney’s fees (20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(3)(B)).
• A civil rights or constitutional claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 succeeds: the court may award fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988.
• A requester wins a lawsuit against an agency that unlawfully refused to provide public records, after giving the written notice the statute requires (section 119.12).
• A challenge to a state agency rule succeeds (section 120.595).
• The other side raised a claim or defense it knew or should have known had no support in the facts or the law (section 57.105).

These provisions cut both ways: where a statute awards fees to the prevailing party, a school that loses may have to pay the other side’s. And not every proceeding shifts fees. In a bid protest, for example, the side that prevails recovers its costs but not its attorney’s fees (section 287.042(2)(c)).

How We Charge

We are always willing to explore alternative fee arrangements, including contingent or partially contingent arrangements, and flat or fixed fees. Most of our representation is for an hourly rate. Whatever the arrangement, the client pays the costs and expenses of the matter, such as filing fees, court reporter and transcript charges, and expert witness fees, on top of the attorney fee; in a contingency fee matter, the client owes those costs whether or not anything is recovered. The terms are explained, and put in a written fee agreement, before we take a matter.

What are our hourly rates? Well, to a certain extent our hourly rates depend on the experience of the attorney working on the case and the nature of the matter. Certain matters, such as federal court litigation, or federal appeals tend to have a level of complication that will require a higher hourly rate. Because we are a small firm, our lower overhead allows us to charge lower rates than some of the larger firms for comparable legal representation. We will be happy to discuss our rates when we discuss representing you. However, be forewarned that if you’re looking for the lowest cost hourly attorney, we will likely not be that attorney. Don’t forget, however that an hourly rate alone tells you very little – one attorney might take 10 hours to do something that another attorney, because of expertise and experience, will accomplish in but 2 hours.

We are selective in the cases we take. We work with the client to make sure there is a reasonable return on the investment in legal fees, and we will often advise a client when we do not believe a case is worth bringing, even if the client is still willing to pay to bring it.

We are always up front in discussing the potential exposure and costs involved in bringing a case. Over time we have found that it is always better to count the cost up front, even when that means we lose work, than to get into a case without the client knowing the likely exposure and cost.

To talk with us about a matter and how fees would work, call us at 850-567-8445 or fill in the message form on this page.