The following is a brief extract from a December 14, 2001 Daily Journal Newswire article entitled:

By Lawrence R. Jensen

[ To read the entire article by Mr. Jensen, click here.]

"*  *  *   As an attorney who has worked in two medium-sized firms for seven years before opening my solo practice in 1994, I believe that one of the main reasons litigation is so expensive is because the practice of law involves such high overhead. My overhead expenses are lower than many, but considering that there are a limited number of hours in the day, I have to charge well in excess of $200 per hour to make a profit equivalent to a salary of less than $100,000 per year, without benefits."

[ADDITIONAL COMMENT, BY MARC HANKIN: A lawyer must charge even more, if a lawyer wishes to have a normal life, but spends a significant amount of of his or her day doing public service work, as I do (e.g., developing and drafting legislation, handling pro bono cases, handling pioneering cases to "blaze a trail" for other lawyers, lecturing and writing articles for other lawyers on how to handle elder law matters, etc.).   

For a more complete analysis of the overhead issues involved in the Conservatorship of Levitt decision, click here.

Fees Awarded in Conservatorship of Levitt
Case	Hours	Total Fees	Average Hourly Rate
Levitt	324	$64,000.00	$197.53
Page	363	$69,000.00	$190.08
Page + Levitt	687	$133,000.00	$193.81

There are only so many hours in the day.]

DAILY JOURNAL NEWSWIRE ARTICLE                                           To read the entire article by Mr. Jensen, click here.

"*  *  *  Accordingly, if we want to reduce legal fees, the other thing we should do is obtain more judges and courtrooms, make court rules and procedures less time-consuming, and spread some of the high cost of litigation to the taxpayers."

Lawrence R. Jensen is a sole practitioner in San Jose.

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