I will be straight with you. If I could take every case for free, I would. I did not become a lawyer to send invoices, and turning good people away over money is the hardest part of this job. But a law practice, like a ranch, does not run on good intentions alone.
When you call a lawyer, you are usually worried about two things at once: the problem in front of you, and what it is going to cost to deal with it. You deserve a straight answer on both. So here is how I handle fees, in plain language, before you ever sit down with me.
My name is Alex Murad. I am a California-licensed attorney based in Ojai, and I represent tenants and property owners across Ventura County. I try to match the fee to the case, because a security deposit fight and a habitability lawsuit are not the same kind of work and should not be priced the same way.
One thing before any of the numbers below. I put real prices on this page because I think it is unfair to make somebody call a lawyer just to find out whether they can afford one. Those numbers are honest, and in the ordinary case I expect to honor them. But every case is different, and the facts of yours are what control. If something about your situation changes what the work actually takes, you will hear it from me before I start, not after, and we will put it in writing. Nothing on this page is a quote, a bid, or a promise about your case. The written agreement we both sign is the one that governs.
The Consultation Is Free
The first conversation does not cost you anything. We will talk about what happened, what your options are, and what working together would likely cost. If I am not the right fit for your case, I will tell you, and I will point you in a better direction where I can.
How I Charge
Most of my work falls into one of three fee structures. Which one fits depends on the kind of case and what you are trying to accomplish. I will recommend the option that makes the most sense for your situation, not the one that pays me the most.
Contingency Fees
In cases where the goal is to recover money for you, I often work on contingency. That means I am paid out of what I recover, so you are not paying me by the hour while your case is pending. My contingency rates are simple, and staged to how far your case has to go:
- 20% of what I recover if your case resolves before a lawsuit is filed.
- 30% of what I recover if your case resolves after a lawsuit is filed.
- 35% of what I recover if your case resolves within 60 days of trial or goes through trial.
If I take your case on contingency and we recover nothing, you owe no attorney’s fee. Court costs are a separate matter. Filing fees, service fees, and similar expenses are your responsibility, not something I cover, and I will walk you through the likely costs before we begin so nothing catches you off guard. Exactly how costs and fees work together will be spelled out in the written agreement we both sign before I start.
Flat Fees
For work where the scope is clear from the start, a flat fee is often the better deal for you, because you know the full price up front. This fits things like reviewing or drafting a lease, responding to a specific notice, or handling a defined piece of an eviction defense. One price, agreed in advance, with no meter running.
Flat Fee Eviction Defense: $1,500
If you have been handed eviction papers, your problem is not really the lawsuit yet. It is the clock. You have very few days to respond, and most tenants burn those days trying to find out what a lawyer costs. So here is the number, before you call.
Fifteen hundred dollars, paid up front. That covers two things: writing and filing your formal response to the lawsuit, and standing up for you at one court hearing. In California an eviction lawsuit is called an unlawful detainer, and your written response is called an answer. Those are the words you will see on the paperwork.
The fifteen hundred dollars is split two ways. $1,000 is my flat fee. $500 is set aside to pay the court.
That $500 is still your money. It goes into a separate bank account that the law requires me to keep for client money, I pay the court out of it, and you get back whatever is left. Right now the court charges $225 to file your answer if your landlord is asking for $10,000 or less, and $370 if the amount is between $10,000 and $35,000. So in most cases, some of that money comes back to you.
And if your income is low enough, the court may drop its filing fee entirely. I will fill out and file that request for you. If the court says yes, you pay the court nothing and nearly the whole $500 comes back. I would rather tell you that up front than quietly keep it.
Here is what the $1,500 does not cover. It pays for your answer and one hearing. Some cases turn into more than that. It does not cover a fight over whether you were served properly, the written questions and document demands lawyers send each other, a request asking the judge to decide the case without a trial, a jury trial, extra hearing dates if your case gets pushed back, asking the court to undo an eviction after the judge has already ruled, appeals, or any claim you might want to bring against your landlord for money.
Lawyers call this limited scope representation. In plain terms: I handle that one piece, and when it is finished, so is my part. If you want me to stay on your case, we sign a new agreement first, and I tell you what it should cost before you decide anything.
You can also ask me to keep my own $1,000 in that same client account until I have actually done the work. That is your right under California’s rules, not a favor I am doing you, and anything I do not earn comes back to you. All of it will be written down in the agreement you sign before I start.
A word of caution. A flat fee is not a promise about how your case ends. Filing an answer buys you a hearing, not a result, and some eviction cases are already lost before anyone calls a lawyer. If I think your fifteen hundred dollars is better spent on moving costs than on a defense that will not work, I will tell you that at the free consultation.
Flat Fee Demand Letter and Negotiation: $500
Most housing problems do not need a lawsuit. They need a landlord to understand that a lawyer is now paying attention. Repairs that never get made, a security deposit that never comes back, an accommodation request that keeps getting ignored. For those, I offer a flat fee of five hundred dollars.
Here is what that covers. I review your documents, investigate the facts, send a formal demand letter on my letterhead, and negotiate with the other side for thirty days after the letter goes out. Many cases resolve right there, because the letter tells the landlord what the law requires and what it will cost them to keep ignoring it.
What it does not cover: filing a lawsuit, court appearances, or defending you if you get sued. If negotiation does not get it done and your case is worth pursuing, we talk about next steps and sign a new agreement first, with the price in front of you before you decide anything. This is the same limited scope arrangement described above, and it will all be in writing before I start.
Hourly Rates
Some matters do not fit neatly into a percentage or a flat fee, usually because no one can predict how the other side will behave. For those, my rate is $500 per hour, billed in fair increments for the time actually worked. I am candid with you up front about what I expect the work to take so the cost does not catch you off guard.
When the Landlord Has to Pay Your Legal Fees
This is the part most tenants never hear, and it can change everything. In a number of situations, California law lets the court order the landlord to pay your attorney’s fees when you win. That can put a strong case within reach even when paying a lawyer out of pocket would not be.
A few examples where fee recovery may be available:
- Substandard, untenantable housing. Civil Code 1942.4 lets a tenant recover damages, plus attorney’s fees and costs, when a landlord keeps collecting rent on a home with serious, unrepaired habitability problems.
- Illegal lockouts and utility shutoffs. Civil Code 789.3 provides for damages, a daily penalty, and attorney’s fees when a landlord tries to force you out without going to court.
- Disability and fair housing violations. California’s fair housing law allows a prevailing tenant to recover attorney’s fees.
- A lease with an attorney-fee clause. Civil Code 1717 makes a one-sided fee clause work both ways, so a clause the landlord wrote to use against you can end up working for you.
Whether any of these applies depends on the facts, and I will tell you honestly where your case stands. But when the law allows it, making the other side pay is exactly what I aim to do.
No Surprises, In Writing
Before I start work, you will get a written fee agreement that lays out exactly how you are charged, including how costs are handled separately from my fee. You will not get a bill you did not see coming. If something changes the scope of the work, we talk about it first.
How You Can Pay
For my fee, you can pay by credit card, Zelle, or bank transfer. For money I have to hold for you, like the $500 set aside for the court, it has to come by bank transfer.
Here is why. Credit card companies take a percentage out of every payment, and they can pull a payment back weeks later. Neither of those should ever happen to money that belongs to you. A direct bank transfer means your money arrives whole and stays whole.
One practical note if you have already been handed papers. A bank transfer takes a few business days to arrive, and eviction deadlines do not wait. Call me before you send anything so we can do this in the right order. And if the court drops your filing fee, we may not need your court money in hand at all before your response gets filed.
Your Money Stays Protected
Money I hold for you sits in a client trust account, kept separate from my own operating funds, exactly as California law requires. That covers funds I recover in your case and any advance you have paid that I have not yet earned. You can ask that unearned fees stay in trust until I earn them, you can request an accounting at any time, and anything I do not earn comes back to you. Your money stays yours until it is earned or properly paid out.
If you are weighing whether you can even afford to deal with a housing problem, talk to me before you decide you cannot. The consultation is free, and you may have more options, and more leverage, than you think.
From my office in Ojai, I serve tenants and property owners across Ventura County, including Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Port Hueneme, Oak View, and Meiners Oaks.
The initial consultation is always free.
Call or text: 805-295-4197 Email: alexmurad@ranchgritlaw.com
Disclaimer: This website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The fee structures described here are general information, not a quote or a guarantee, and your exact fee will be set out in a written agreement before any work begins. Viewing this site or communicating with the Law Office of Alex Murad through this site does not create an attorney-client relationship. Licensed to practice law in California only.